President Goodluck Assures World Economic Forum Participants Of Their Safety in Abuja.

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has reassured the global community of the safety of all participants in the next month’s World Economic Forum on Africa, in Abuja.

The meeting, slated for May 7 to 9, will bring together regional and global leaders to discuss innovative structural reforms and investments that can sustain the continent’s current growth trajectory and create jobs.

With the theme “Delivering on Africa’s Promise”, the forum will provide a platform for regional and global leaders from business, government and civil society to deepen the continent’s integration agenda and renew commitment to a sustainable path of growth and development by addressing issues including accelerating economic diversification, boosting strategic infrastructure and unlocking Africa’s talent.

Jonathan gave the assurance on Thursday while speaking at an audience with China’s new Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Gu Xiaojie, who presented his letters of credence to him at the Presidential Villa.

He said that the security challenges being experienced in some parts of the country would have no adverse effect on the safety of participants.

The president welcomed the confirmation by China of its delegation to the forum, which will be led by Premier Li Keqiang, saying, “I am quite pleased that the Premier of the People’s Republic of China has confirmed that he is coming. We will be addressing the World Economic Forum on Africa together. We will also sit down together to discuss shared national interests.”

He added: “We will give all participants a good reception in Abuja. We have faced challenges in the area of security, but we will overcome the situation so that our economy can move

forward faster. Participants will not have a problem with security during the summit.”

The ambassador told President Jonathan that China was confident in Nigeria’s security measures and its ability to host the forum successfully.

“From our assessment, we are confident that all is under control and we have relayed that to our people,” Gu Xiaojie said.

He applauded Nigeria’s re-basing of its GDP and the country’s emergence as the number one economy in Africa, noting that it will certainly stimulate the inflow of more foreign investors.

The new Malaysian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Lim Juay and the new Ambassador of Thailand, Mr Chailert Limsoboom also presented their letters of credence.

He urged all the three new ambassadors to do their best to further expand areas of bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and their respective countries and wished them successful and rewarding tenures in Nigeria.

The hosting of the World Economic Forum for Africa is coming at a time that there is heightened security in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) following the recent bomb attack at Nyanya Bus Terminal, killing 75 persons and wounding 124 more.

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