President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has said the agreements and decisions taken at the recent D-8 Summit in Pakistan would help to strengthen existing relations among members of the group.
President Jonathan was speaking to the new Pakistani High Commissioner to Nigeria, Lt. General Mohamad Ashraf Saleem, one of the three new ambassadors who presented letters of credence, at State House, Tuesday.
‘I am glad that you are coming soon after the D-8 Summit, because we plan to take advantage of the decisions of the group to strengthen our relations’, he stated.
President Jonathan said Nigeria wanted to leverage on the long history of bilateral and multilateral cooperation with Pakistan to improve agriculture, create more jobs, and increase food supply.
The new High Commissioner, Lt. Gen. Moahamad Ashraf Saleem, said he looked forward to working with the President to improve relations between the two nations.
During a separate audience with Mr. David Jonathan Richardson of Australia, President Jonathan said he looked forward to more cooperation and investment from Australia, especially in the solid minerals sector.
He also expressed appreciation for Australia’s pledge of $50m to support Nigeria’s polio eradication programme, and restated the Administration’s commitment to eradicate polio from Nigeria by 2015.
Also speaking to Mr. Joao Andre Pinto Dias Lima of Brazil, President Jonathan said the forthcoming visit of the Brazilian President to Abuja will enable even closer relations between Nigeria and Brazil.
The new Ambassadors pledged to do their best to strengthen relations with Nigeria during their tenures in Nigeria.
