Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has welcomed the support of Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, for anti-terrorism efforts and to check the effect of the receding Lake Chad on the economy of the communities living in the area.
Read also: We are ready to offer Nigerians affordable education – Netherlands
Both leaders discussed issues related to the fight against insurgency in the North East, climate change, particularly the shrinkage of Lake Chad, economic cooperation, the fight against corruption and a range of other issues of mutual interest during Buhari’s Official Visit to the Netherlands.
The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said in a statement that Buhari highlighted the progress made in the fight against insurgency in the North East.
The President raised the issue of the humanitarian situation in the region, the treceding of the Lake Chad and its impact on the economy of the communities living in the area.
He stressed the need for workable solutions to restore the Lake Chad, including the inter-basin water transfer project from Ubangi River in Central Africa to the Lake.
He welcomed the interest of the Dutch Prime Minister on Lake Chad and commitment to establish a technical committee to work with the Nigerian side on the best approach to address the issue.
President Buhari also expressed the firm commitment of his administration to recover more stolen funds and assets of the country stashed abroad and looked forward to working closely with the Netherlands on this.
On the economy, Prime Minister Rutte congratulated Nigeria on the enormous strides being recorded, including Nigeria’s rising profile on World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business.
He noted that the Netherlands is one of Nigeria’s biggest trading partners, and the two leaders agreed on the need for more collaboration to increase trade.