New york: The Federal Government has called for an urgent action to promote debt relief as a clear path to peace and prosperity and not an act of charity. President Bola Tinubu made the call in his national statement at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday in New York. Tinubu, represented by the Vice-President Kashim Shettima, also called for new and binding mechanisms to manage sovereign debt.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, it is a sort of International Court of Justice for money, that will allow emerging economies to escape the economic straitjacket of primary production of unprocessed exports. It has been over for decades since the Lagos Action Plan outlined a route away from debt and dependence that highlighted opportunities. That today should still be explored for local added value for processing and manufacturing in everything from agriculture to solid minerals and petrochemicals. The African Continental Free Trade Area is a remarkable achievement of co-oper
ation. Nigeria remains fully committed to the achievement of SDGs and is convinced this can be best delivered by focusing principally on its primary mission of growth and prosperity.
Tinubu said Nigeria welcomed the move towards peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo, saying the country agrees that international investment and engagement offer a way out of the cycle of decay and violence. Access to strategic minerals, from Sierra Leone in the 1990s and Sudan today, has for too long been a source of conflict rather than prosperity for Africa. Nigeria, which has an abundance of the critical minerals that will drive the technologies of the future, sees investment in exploration, development, and processing of these minerals in Africa as a means to diversify supply to the international market. This will also reduce tensions between major economies and help shape the architecture for peace and prosperity on a continent often left behind by rivalries and competition between different blocs.
He said that Nigeri
a and Africa have made significant strides in recent years to put their affairs in order. The progress can be taken to the next level, presenting new opportunities for trade, investment, and profit, if reforms to strengthen the international financial architecture can be accessed.