Qatar has reversed its earlier decision and confirmed that the proposed business and investment forum will take place during the visit of Nigerian President Bola Tinubu to the Arab country on March 2–3, 2024.
News About Nigeria reported that the initial rejection had been based on the unavailability of Qatar’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mohammed Bin Hamad Al-Thani, as stated in a leaked memo dated February 22, 2024.
Additionally, the embassy of Qatar in Abuja said that there was no existing agreement between Qatar and Nigeria regarding the investment forum.
However, in a new memo dated Sunday, February 25, 2024, and addressed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Qatari embassy confirmed the hosting of the Business and Investment Forum (BIF) on March 3, 2024.
The event will be held on the margins of President Tinubu’s state visit to Qatar.
This development comes after a leaked note and the embassy’s earlier statement had sparked controversy about the status of the proposed forum.
The Presidency explained that the Qatari authorities did not snub President Tinubu and explained that the business and investment forum was just one of several events lined up ahead of the President’s state visit to Qatar.
The Presidency stated that Tinubu was expected to proceed with the state visit as scheduled.
“It is not correct for anyone to insinuate that the Qatari authorities have snubbed the Nigerian leader over a business and investment forum which is tangential to the all-important state visit and which President Tinubu is slated to attend as a guest,” a statement signed by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Saturday read.
