Saudi, Nigeria seal partnership in oil and gas sector

Hours after arriving Saudi Arabia, Nigeria has entered into a preliminary partnership agreement with the kingdom on energy-related cooperation.

This was disclosed by Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi Energy Minister at the Saudi-Arab-African economic conference in Riyadh on Thursday, stating that the agreement with Nigeria and other African countries is to have a joint action in the field of energy.

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan, at the conference, disclosed that the Saudi Fund for Development will sign agreements worth 2 billion riyals (USD 533 million) with African countries.

“We are working with partners to support Ghana and other countries regarding their debt,” Jadaan added.

With the recent global pandemic COVID-19, and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the Saudi-Africa Summit is seeking to fill the gaps and increase economic growth within the Arab-African trade zone.

Persecond News reports that Arab-African trade has the potential to shoot to over $37.6bn by 2027, a 31 percent increase over the 2021 value.

By resolving trade barriers and channelling investment into sectors with growth potential, such as plastics, machinery and energy, by 2027 the Arab State could increase annual export to Africa by $26.4bn and Africa by $11bn to the Arab States.

While African exports to Arab States have been on the ascendency over the past decades, exports of Arab States to Africa have not increased in recent years.