The President of the United States, Joe Biden, and President Bola Tinubu Tuesday discussed issues bordering on partnership and reforms of the United Nations Security Council.
The two leaders, according to Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, spoke in a telephone call.
Tuggar said President Biden called President Tinubu, and the discussion lasted for about 30 minutes.
He said “Biden thanked President Tinubu for his partnership and for Nigeria’s partnership in particular, the collaboration between the two countries with regards to our law enforcement and law enforcement agencies as well as release of our e of the suspects of the cryptocurrency exchange company (Binance).”
“Tinubu, on his part, also thanked the U.S. for the partnership and collaboration in numerous areas and also discussed the issue of cooperation with regard to security in Africa and in particular in West Africa.
” He equally assured President Biden that this is a partnership that will continue and he stated as matter of fact not just once, at least twice that the future of the world relies on africa which was why it was important for this partnership to continue.
“The two leaders also discussed the issue of permanent seat and the United Nations Security Council and President Biden once again assured that the United States is committed to seeing africa having two permanent seats.
“He also reiterated that he did not see any reason why one of those seats should not belong to Nigeria, given its position in Africa, its stature, and its importance.
“And of course, President Biden as we all know is leaving very soon as he is not contesting elections, so the two leaders also exchanged fondness for each other and the meetings they have had including the G20 meeting which is another area where Nigeria is pushing hard to ensure that it becomes a member of the G20 and of course they concluded by saying that they were looking forward to staying in touch even though President Biden is leaving office.
“And it is also important to underscore the fact that it was made clear during the phone call that Nigeria is a law abiding country, it is a country that is guided by the rule of law and we have our processes and the United States equally recognises those processes and respects them. As a matter of fact, President Tinubu during the discussion even mentioned the similarities of the fact that our system of government is very similar to the United States system of government, we adopted our won system of government having gone back to civilian constitution and democracy in 1999 by adopting a US styled system of government. So the rule of law is very important, which is why we these processes which the two leaders both assured that they will continue to collaborate in that regard.”
Responding to specific issues discussed in during the phone call as it concerns Binance, the Minister said “Certainly, there was a situation were gratitude was expressed but again, remember I said we have processes, we are a country that is guided by the rule of law and due process, that is what transpired.
“Of course, there were diplomatic exchanges also and discussion that resulted in resolving that; but it was not purely that, it was also Nigeria following due process and abiding by the rule of law.”
In the area of partnership, he said “in terms of partnership, don’t forget that there’s a dimension of that which is the sharing of intelligence which is very vital, application of technology and of course equipment-kinetic and non-kinetic and training.
“Of course, the United States is also a leader in the world today in artificial intelligence. I would say that they are the number one nation when it comes to artificial intelligence, and it is evident that in the future, a lot is going to rely on artificial intelligence. So the sooner we get into it, the better, and the United States has expressed interest in working with Nigeria on artificial intelligence.
“I believe if I heard it correctly, President Biden also alluded to the upcoming event that is coming up in lagos on artificial intelligence, so I will continue to collaborate in that regard.”
Stay ahead with the latest updates! Join The ConclaveNG on WhatsApp and Telegram for real-time news alerts, breaking stories, and exclusive content delivered straight to your phone. Don’t miss a headline — subscribe now!
