The Secretary-General of D-8 Organization paid an official visit to the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the occasion of the Signing Ceremony of the Health and Social Protection Programme (HSP) between the D-8 Secretariat and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria held on 21st January, 2020, at the Headquarters of Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja. The Secretary-General was accompanied by Director I, Mr. Nasir Aminu and Research Analyst and Press Officer, Mr. Ilham Uludag, Programme Director, D-8 Health and Social Protection, Dr. Ado Muhammad and other officers from the Health Programme office.

On the first day of the programme, 20th January 2020, the Secretary-General called on the Honourable Minister of Health of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, H.E. Dr. Osagie E. Ehanire. During the call on, the Secretary-General congratulated the Hon’ble Minister for his well-deserved appointment and wished him outstanding success during his tenure. He also thanked the Minister and officials of Health Ministry for their unflinching support and great assistance to the HSP initiative. Furthermore, the Secretary-General briefed the Minister regarding the activities of the D-8 in general and the HSP initiative in particular. He also stressed the importance of the activities in the health sector and their benefits to all the D-8 Member States.

In his response, the Minister warmly welcomed the D-8 delegation to Nigeria. He also pointed out the crucial importance of health and social protection in the development process of a country and stressed the importance of human capital development in this regard by sharing some details. The Hon’ble Minister also informed that Nigeria is doing well and working hard in various areas of the health sector in order to provide high quality service especially on primary health care. He also assured the Secretary General that the D-8 Health initiative has a bright future.

On the same day, the Secretary-General paid an official visit to the Honourable Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, H.E. Ambassador Mariam Yalwaji Katagum at the latter’s office and had a meeting on ways to boost collaboration in the areas of trade and industry.

During the visit, the Secretary-General expressed his gratitude to the Minister for receiving the D-8 delegation. He also briefed the Minister on the activities of the D-8 Organization especially in the area of trade and industry. In this light, he spoke about the visa agreement that is aimed at facilitating the movement of business people across D-8 frontiers, the D-8 Preferential Trade Agreement and the D-8 Chamber of Commerce and Industry (D-8 CCI). He also emphasized the key role of the private sector in economic development and high trade volume. Then, he shared some details regarding some of the initiatives which the D-8 Secretariat has introduced like the D-8 Payment Card System, the D-8 Industrial Zone, Barter Trade System and Creative Economy and Financial Center. He also gave some details regarding the Health and Social Protection Programme which is being spearheaded by the Government of Nigeria and pointed out the importance of the health sector as a key area for boosting trade and investment since it brings dynamism with its various activities such as health tourism.

On her part, the Hon’ble Minister welcomed the D-8 delegation to Nigeria and congratulated the Secretary-General and D-8 Organization for introducing an important initiative by signing the Headquarters Agreement on health. She also expressed the importance of the health sector to economic development. She generally gave positive comments on the projects and initiatives which the Secretary-General spoke about during the meeting. She also stressed the importance of the private sector in reaching the trade targets and women empowerment commitments. She also supported the idea of Special Industrial Zones adding that Nigeria already has some and that they belong to both the Government and the private sector. She also informed that Nigeria is a lucrative investment destination and many foreign investors are attracted to the country and thus streams of investments are flowing into various sectors of Nigeria’s economy. She also indicated her interest to work with the D-8 Organization on Barter Trade and Islamic Financial Tools. Furthermore, the Minister assured the Secretary General that she will follow up on the initiatives and projects introduced by the D-8 Secretariat in order to make them effective in trade and industry activities.

The meeting ended with presentation of gifts and photo opportunity.