Nigeria has unique place in Kuwait’s priorities – Envoy

Mr Abdulaziz Albisher is the Ambassador of the State of Kuwait to Nigeria. In this interview, he talks about his plans to further deepen bilateral relations between both countries.   Daily Trust: How do you view bilateral relations between Nigeria and Kuwait? Abdulaziz Albisher: As a matter of fact, Nigeria has a unique place in […]

Mr Abdulaziz Albisher is the Ambassador of the State of Kuwait to Nigeria. In this interview, he talks about his plans to further deepen bilateral relations between both countries.

 

Daily Trust: How do you view bilateral relations between Nigeria and Kuwait?

Abdulaziz Albisher: As a matter of fact, Nigeria has a unique place in the priorities of Kuwaiti diplomacy. Its geographical location, population, endowment with huge natural resources and investment opportunities in the fields of oil and gas, various minerals, industry, transport, energy, agriculture, tourism, telecommunication and banking make it an attraction to policy makers and investors.  Its regional, continental and international roles are very much commendable. Our diplomatic ties with Nigeria are indeed distinguished and brotherly, deeply rooted and dating back to the 60s. Relations were on the popular level, they then metamorphosed into diplomatic relations between the two friendly countries in 1971. Nigeria opened its embassy in Kuwait officially in December 1980, which was reciprocated later on by Kuwait opening its embassy in Nigeria in May 2005. These ties include wide range of cooperation in various fields. This cooperation was well consolidated in the near past by several visits of Nigerian officials to the State of Kuwait, some of which were the visit of the then Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Mrs Aisha Abubakar to attend the second session of the International Trade Fair of member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held from 6-10 February 2018, followed by the visit of the former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mrs Khadijah Bukar Ibrahim on 13th February 2018 to attend the ministerial meeting of the International Alliance against ISIS. The peak of these visits was that of the former Nigerian vice president, Namadi Sambo, in November 2013 to the third Arab – African Summit held in Kuwait city under the kind supervision of His Highness Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad AlJaber AlSabah, the Emir of the State of Kuwait (May God protect and guide him).

These distinguished relations witnessed continuous and fruitful cooperation in all international organizations such as the UN and OPEC. It also covers mutual exchange of expertise between the two countries as well as the presence of many Nigerian experts in different fields such as medicine, engineering, education and many others. My country always offers scholarships to Nigerian students officially or through  charity institutions. I would like to thank the Nigerian government for the support accorded to Kuwait for membership of the non-permanent seat of the UN Security Council (2018-2019). I also hope to improve on the existing relations between our two friendly countries and take it to the highest level, together with attracting investment to Nigeria. We hope to agree in the near future to adopt the drafts of the bilateral agreements to expedite their enforcement.  There are thoughts on the horizon regarding completion of twining agreement between some Nigerian states and Kuwaiti districts. The embassy of the State of Kuwait in Nigeria will invite Kuwait investment Authority (KIA) to avail itself of trade and investment opportunities in Nigeria. It shall also work with the Nigerian side to ensure coordination and consultations in respect of means of cooperation in the economy between business men from the two countries through the chambers of commerce and industry.

DT: How would you assess Nigeria’s efforts against terrorism?

Albisher: Nigeria is very much on the right track, and its wise leadership enjoys support from the international community. Its recent efforts in fighting terror under the wise leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari proved that it is all out for serious business, and the successes achieved by the Nigerian Army are quite encouraging, however efforts to dry up all the financial resources of the extremists together with applying a rigorous intelligence method will surely put an end to their destructive activities.

DT: In what ways can the Kuwaiti government assist African economies?

Albisher: Kuwait has always had Africa at heart, that needs not to be underlined, for it has fashioned numerous contributions and initiatives meant to enhance Africa’s development.  The presence of my government’s developmental efforts is well recognized. Let me first of all throw the light on the Arab-African Summit held in Kuwait during which His Highness the Emir of the State of Kuwait gave his directive to the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development to facilitate grants and concessionary loans to African countries to the tune of two billion U.S. dollars reserved for investment and development spread over five years. It is meant to support the efforts of African countries towards realizing their developmental aspirations in various fields, particularly infrastructure.  As this initiative is to be executed through the Kuwait Fund, it goes through legal procedures. In line with the interest of His Highness on Africa, he attended the 19th African Union Summit held in Ethiopia as guest of honour where he offered to well equip the then newly built African Union secretariat. The same summit witnessed granting the State of Kuwait membership to the African Union the capacity of an observer.  Let me also mention that the emir of the state of Kuwait has also announced the intention of his country to grant an annual prize of one million U.S. dollars in memory of late Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sumit. This prize is meant for development research and research projects in agriculture, health and Ebola eradication. This prize is under the auspices of the Kuwait Scientific Institution and the theme for the 2019 prize is food security.

DT: What roles does Kuwait play in the humanitarian field?

Albisher: My country’s roles in the humanitarian field are well recognized worldwide, they touch lives in many ways and these remarkable efforts made the former Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, to award our leader His Highness Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Emir of the State of Kuwait (may God protect and guide him) a certificate on behalf of the UN in recognition of his continued support to the international humanitarian system, naming him a “Humanitarian Leader” and the State of Kuwait as “Universal Humanitarian Centre”. The ceremony took place at the United Nations premises in New York City on Tuesday, September 9, 2014. Kuwait is diligently enlarging its humanitarian contributions in many areas in the world maintaining its international rating as “World Humanitarian Centre”.

DT: What role can the Kuwait Fund play in Nigeria’s development?

Albisher: I hope to see a joint cooperation between the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and Nigeria, as it was not given the chance right from its inception to contribute to development projects in Nigeria. As you know, the fund engages in joint cooperation with many countries in different continents, out of which 40 countries are in Africa.  The fund executed over 700 development projects. I would like to point out the participation of the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development in the high level conference held in Berlin, Germany from 3-4 September regarding the lake Chad region which was jointly presided over by the United Nations, Germany, Norway and Nigeria. The summit worked towards gaining financial and political support with the view to responding to the humanitarian needs of residents of the Lake Chad basin.

DT: What is your perception about Nigeria and Nigerians?

Albisher: Nigeria, in my opinion, is the giant of Africa, with huge potentials that make it a pioneer on regional, continental and international scenes. It has already assumed remarkable roles by maintaining peace and stability through financial and human sacrifices.  As for Nigerians, they are indeed hospitable and friendly. In fact, we share a lot in terms of culture and cherished values. Nigeria is a very special country endowed with numerous resources that will undoubtedly enable it to be one of the top world economies in the near future, its cultural heritage is exceptional, the roles played by its successive governments and the current able government in particular on the regional, continental and world levels maintaining peace and security are very much appreciated.