SINGAPORE PRESIDENT SEEKS STRONGER TIES WITH NIGERIA, INVITES TINUBU

Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam has invited President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to undertake a state visit to Singapore as both countries look to deepen diplomatic relations and explore areas of mutual interest. The invitation was conveyed by Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Burhan Gafoor, during a meeting with Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, at the Nigerian Mission House in New York.

According to Ibrahim, Gafoor presented a formal letter from President Tharman inviting Tinubu to Singapore. The Singaporean envoy also congratulated the Nigerian President on his emergence as Chairman of two important United Nations committees. Ibrahim expressed appreciation for the invitation and said arrangements would be made for Tinubu to visit Singapore at a convenient time.

The Nigerian envoy said Singapore was interested in exchanging experiences with Nigeria on issues relating to multilateralism and national development. He added that Tinubu’s economic reforms had attracted international attention, noting that Singapore was among the countries interested in understanding Nigeria’s reform efforts and sharing its own experiences in development and governance.

Ibrahim also drew a comparison between the scale of Tinubu’s economic reforms and the transformation associated with Singapore’s late founding Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew. He said Tinubu holds President Tharman in high regard and congratulated Singapore for the progress it has achieved over the years. According to him, Nigeria is similarly pursuing reforms aimed at building a modern state and creating greater economic opportunities for its citizens.

The Nigerian ambassador further disclosed that his office at the United Nations had recently received increased diplomatic engagements, including visits from the British and Guyanese ambassadors to the UN. He said his leadership of the UN Fifth Committee and the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, also known as the C-34, would focus on fairness, accountability and efficiency, assuring member states that available resources would be distributed equitably.