President Jonathan Assures International Community The Forthcoming World Economic Forum In Abuja Will Be Safe

With Nigeria’s international image considerably hurt by a series of security fiascos, including last week’s Abuja bombing and the abduction of 200 high school girls in Borno State, President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday sought to assure the world next month’s World Economic Forum on Africa in the Nigerian capital will be safe.


Receiving China’s new Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Gu Xiaojie, who came to present his official accreditation at the presidential villa, Mr. Jonathan said that the security challenges being experienced in parts of the country will have no adverse effect on the participants in, a State House statement said.

He welcomed the confirmation by China that its delegation to the Forum, which 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, will be led by Premier Li Keqiang.

“We will be addressing the World Economic Forum on Africa together,” Jonathan told the ambassador. “We will also sit down together to discuss shared national interests.

“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,” President Jonathan promised.

The ambassador assured the President of China’s confidence in Nigeria’s security measures and the country’s ability to host the World Economic Forum on Africa successfully.

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

He applauded Nigeria’s recent 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.

Also on Thursday, Mr. Jonathan received the new Malaysian ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Lim Juay, and the new Ambassador of Thailand, Mr. Chailert Limsoboom.

The President urged all three new ambassadors to do their best to further expand areas of bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and their respective countries.