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Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
In order to address the country’s infrastructural deficit, President Muhammadu Buhari has indicated interest in how Nigeria can key into the new United States International Development Finance Corporation (USIDFC), which provides $60 billion for investments in developing countries.
The President expressed the willingness of his administration to mobilise additional capital from development finance institutions for the upgrade of critical infrastructure in the country.
He stated this when he met with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in Riyadh on Wednesday, at the margins of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Forum, where they had positive discussions on investments in Nigeria under the new financing portfolio for developing nations.
According to a statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Buhari said Nigeria will leverage on the US facility to address current challenges confronting the country’s power sector as well as general upgrade of infrastructure.
The President thanked the US government for supporting Nigeria’s anti-terrorism efforts.
Buhari and Mnuchin also discussed areas of strengthening Nigeria’s ongoing collaboration with the United States on stopping terrorist financing.
Mnuchin was accompanied by Brent Macintosh, Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs and Marshall Billingslea, Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing in the United States Treasury Department.
The Treasury Secretary used the occasion to introduce Macintosh who was recently promoted Under Secretary for International Affairs by President Trump after the previous Under Secretary David Malpass was elected President of the World Bank.
The Nigerian leader congratulated Macintosh on his elevation and requested for his continued support to Nigeria especially in accessing the $60 billion infrastructure fund under the USIDFC.
