PRESIDENT BUHARI'S FULL SPEECH AT THE ONGOING 9TH SUMMIT OF THE D-8 IN ISTANBUL, TURKEY
PRESIDENT BUHARI'S FULL SPEECH AT THE ONGOING 9TH SUMMIT OF
THE D-8 IN ISTANBUL, TURKEY
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday,
in Istanbul urged D-8 leaders to prioritize incentives and measures aimed at
increasing trade and investments among member countries.
Buhari
speaking in Turkey
STATEMENT BY HIS EXCELLENCY MUHAMMADU
BUHARI, PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT THE 9TH SUMMIT OF THE
D-8 ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION, ISTANBUL, TURKEY
20 OCTOBER 2017
Your Excellency, Recep Tayyip
Erdowan, President of the Republic of Turkey, our host, Chairman of D-8
Your Excellencies, Heads of State and
Government of the D-8 Organization,
Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the
D-8 Organization,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I bring greetings from the Government
and people of Nigeria to you all, particularly to the Government and people of
Turkey. Our profound appreciation to President ERDOWAN, the Government and
people of Turkey for the warm hospitality accorded me and my delegation since
our arrival.
2. I wish to express my sincere
gratitude to Your Excellency, for your concern and sympathy during my recent
health challenge from which I have recovered, not least because of your prayer
and the prayers of many other well-wishers and sympathisers.
3. I want to seize the opportunity
of my visit to Turkey, to once again condemn the forceful attempt, in July
2016, to overthrow the legitimate and democratically elected Government of
Turkey. I also wish to once again express my sympathy and condolence to the
families of those who lost their lives in the coup attempt, and salute the
heroic response of the people of Turkey in defence of democracy and good
governance.
4. I will like to assure you that
Nigeria will continue to stand side by side with all peace-loving people of
Turkey and elsewhere, for the defence and promotion of democracy and people's
choice.
5. I pay tribute to Your Excellency,
for the great strides Turkey has made in all domains in the last decade, under
your inspirational leadership. I salute your courageous, principled and firm
stand on many challenges we are confronting in the world today, particularly
insecurity and catastrophic humanitarian situations.
Mr. President,
6. It is a great pleasure for me to
join you and other leaders for the 9th Summit of our great Organization holding
in this historic city of Istanbul, where it all began 20 years ago. Let me
congratulate Your Excellency, for hosting us today and for the 20th anniversary
of this Organization. Nigeria remains committed to the principles and
objectives that informed the establishment of this Organization in 1997, which
is simply to provide better standards of living for our people.
7. I also wish to express my
profound appreciation to the outgoing Chairman for presiding over the affairs
of our Organization and for doing everything possible so that the Organization
achieves its founding objectives and takes its rightful position among nations.
8. Let me seize this opportunity to
commend Dr. Seyed Ali Mohammad Mousavi, the outgoing Secretary-General, for his
commitment and strong resolve to forge ahead even in the face of serious
challenges in discharging his responsibilities. Your wealth of diplomatic and
administrative experience, as well as devotion to duty has greatly helped in
the piloting of the affairs of the Secretariat. Nigeria will continue to
support the Secretariat in its assignments.
Mr. Chairman,
9. Nigeria is committed to, and is
actively pursuing a policy of trade and investment facilitation for growth. The
gains from trade are reflected in greater competitiveness, improved
productivity, job creation, consumer welfare and prosperity.
10. Economies that grow fastest and
at more sustainable rates are those that actively promote trade and attract
investment. We are committed to creating an enabling environment and making
Nigeria an attractive place for business and investment.
11. I wish to reiterate the
commitment we made in Abuja in July 2010 regarding the critical importance of
the Private Sector in our economic policies.
12. Having identified Trade as the
engine of economic growth and development, we must continue to enhance the
enabling environment for it to thrive.
13. It is in this light that I wish
to appeal to Your Excellencies to encourage our respective Economic Agencies to
be more active in participation at executive meetings organized by the
Secretariat.
14. I am pleased to inform you of
positive market developments currently in Africa, that will support our efforts
as Members of the D-8 to enlarge our markets, facilitate our trade and
investments, and develop our economies.
15. In Africa, we are on the
threshold of finalizing negotiations to establish the first ever Single Market
for Trade in Goods and Services on our Continent, in the Continental Free Trade
Area for Africa. This will be a win-win for all, including member countries of
the D-8.
16. As partners, I urge that we work
together to support this effort of the African Union that will have a positive
effect on global economic development and integration.
17. Nigeria remains committed to
international trade and development. In this regard, Nigeria is ready to host
the Meeting of our Ministers of Industry from 14th – 17th next month.
18. As the D-8, we need to intensify
our activities with a view to enhancing various measures and incentives
introduced to promote trade and assist the business communities from Member
States to invest in our countries and widen our cooperation.
19. We need to work hard to
establish integrated manufacturing structures and markets. I will like to
reiterate the importance of increasing trade and investment between our Member
States. We look forward to welcoming you all in Abuja next month.
20. Finally, Mr. President, Your
Excellencies, let me also congratulate and welcome Ambassador Dato Ku Shaari of
Malaysia as you assume office as the new Secretary-General of this Organization.
I wish you the best of luck and I assure you of Nigeria’s support in discharge
your responsibilities.
I thank you all.
