At the second Nigeria International Economic Partnership Forum, which will take place alongside the ongoing United Nations General Assembly in New York, Nigeria, among others, will be Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, Aliko Dangote, the president of the Dangote Group, and Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook.
The high-profile event, which is slated for September 22, 2022, will include speakers and panelists such as Dangote, Bill Gates, Chairman Business Council of the United States and Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft Corp, Satya Nadella, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and President of the Corporate Council on Africa, Florie Liser, according to a statement released on Sunday by the President’s spokesperson, Major General Muhammadu (retd. ), Garba Shehu.
The statement titled ‘Nigeria hosts global investment forum in New York,’ read in part, “In its continued bid to further open up the country’s economy to international capital and attract foreign investment, the Nigerian government, in collaboration with the Africa Business Roundtable, is organising Nigeria International Economic Partnership Forum.
“The NIEPF is expected to draw the presence of world leaders in politics, economy, media as well as Civil Society Organisations and international media to focus on the vast economic potentials of Nigeria and Africa’s leading economy.
“Most significantly, President Buhari will deliver the keynote address at the event and will also host a High-Level Presidential Session with fellow presidents and heads of delegations on Issues That Need Joint Action for African Countries on the Development Drive such as the post COVID-19 recovery and financing priorities; Africa’s Investment Climate and Market as well as De-risking the Continent.”
According to Shehu, the NIEPF will bring together top Nigerian government functionaries as well as renowned and highly respected global public and private sector players rubbing minds on Nigeria’s Economic Outlook, focusing on Nigeria in The Global Economy; and International Partnership for Nigeria on The Development Drive.
Members of the Business Council of International Understanding, Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning; John Kerry; and Abdul Rabiu, Executive Chairman of the BUA Group and President of the France-Nigeria Business Council, are among them.
Others include Mark Zuckerberg, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, and Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN.
Sessions will be centered on topics like expanding Nigeria’s agricultural sector for food security and access to export markets, with a particular emphasis on the impact of the Russia-Ukraine War and the opportunities it brings for G7/G20-Nigeria Partnerships in Agriculture; Scaling Up International Resources for Financing Education in Africa with emphasis on Making facilities to Link Government, Deal Sponsors and International Pools of Capital in Education; and Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Sector: Reforms, Results and the Road focusing on Scaling Up Investment into the Gas Market—Plants, Parks, Cylinders, Reinjection.
“The NIEPF is expected to draw the presence of world leaders in politics, economy, media as well as Civil Society Organisations and international media to focus on the vast economic potentials of Nigeria and Africa’s leading economy.
“Most significantly, President Buhari will deliver the keynote address at the event and will also host a High-Level Presidential Session with fellow presidents and heads of delegations on Issues That Need Joint Action for African Countries on the Development Drive such as the post COVID-19 recovery and financing priorities; Africa’s Investment Climate and Market as well as De-risking the Continent.”
Shehu said that the NIEPF will bring together prominent members of the Nigerian government as well as well-known and esteemed representatives of the public and private sectors from around the world to discuss Nigeria’s economic outlook, with a focus on Nigeria in the global economy, and international partnerships for Nigeria on the development drive.