SAN FRANCISCO, May 19, (THEWILL) – The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jeffrey Onyeama has declared that President Muhammadu Buhari’s visits abroad were to strengthen Nigeria’s goodwill with the governments of other countries.
Onyeama, who made the clarification on Thursday, in Lagos, during his first official visit to the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs(NIIA), described president Buhari as a ‘Change Patriarch’, committed to building goodwill for Nigeria abroad.
“The President has so far been able to generate much goodwill for Nigeria among other world leaders through his visits,” he said.
“Nigeria, therefore, have to begin to leverage on the goodwill currently being enjoyed by the President in engaging with foreign partners, to the benefit of our country.
“We have to have very good and well-thought out strategies in engaging with the outside world. And this is what the President has been trying to do with his visits.”
The minister, who said that his ministry was working at the possibility of leveraging on the country’s comparative advantage, said that Nigeria was also working on promoting export trade and foreign investment.
He also announced the present administration’s plan to really leverage on the presence of Nigeria’s 119 Missions and Embassies abroad in creating market access to Nigerians.
Onyeama also disclosed government’s plan to actively engage Nigerians in the Diaspora in marketing themselves, as well as being Ambassadors for their countries in the 119 countries.
Story by David Oputah
