The Qatari government has accepted the request of President Bola Tinubu for a business investment forum in the Arab State.
This is contained in a letter from the Qatari government to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Nigeria dated February 23, 2024.
According to the letter, president Tinubu will be meeting the government of Qatar in the chamber country’s chamber of commerce on the 3rd of March, 2024.
Recall that the federal government had initially announced that President Tinubu would be visiting the Gulf country on March 2 -3, 2023.
The Presidency refuted claims that the Qatari government snubbed President Bola Tinubu’s request to visit the Middle East country in March for bilateral discussions.
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What the Qatari Government is Saying
According to the letter, the Gulf country will meet with President Tinubu as Scheduled on March 2 -3, 2023.
It reads,
- “The Embassy of the State of Qatar in Abuja presents its compliments to the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
- “Regarding the upcoming State visit of H.E. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to Qatar from 2nd- 3rd March 2024 regarding holding a Business and Investment Forum (BIF) on the margins of Mr President’s visit to Qatar on 2nd March 2024.
- “The Embassy has the honour to convey that the Qatar Chamber of Commerce will host the above-mentioned event on 3rd March 2024, as proposed by the Nigerian side.
- “The Embassy of the State of Qatar in Abuja presents its compliments to the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
What you should know
Earlier, the Presidency refuted claims that the Qatari government has snubbed President Bola Tinubu as he will still visit the Middle East country in March for bilateral discussions as scheduled.
- It stated that the botched investment forum between the Nigerian and Qatari business communities is only one of several events lined up ahead of the President’s State Visit to the Gulf country on March 2 -3, 2023.
- This disclosure is contained in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Saturday, February 24, 2024, where he stated that the leaked memo claiming Qatar authorities snubbed Tinubu is the handiwork of “mischief makers”.
- Onanuga said that the president will engage in high-level bilateral discussions with Qatari leaders on many important matters, covering the full range of diplomatic and economic issues.