Speaking during a dialogue with Macron at the Palais des Elysée in Paris, Tinubu assured the French government and investors that Nigeria is working to create a conducive environment for business and foreign investments.

“It is a responsibility by all of us to put together a good security programme for private sector investors to come in and invest.

“We’ve been working on stabilising the security system in Nigeria and we are getting closer and closer. We are doing better now in the area of security. I can assure all the investors here that Nigeria is open for business and I thank you for your collaboration” he said at the session monitored by THE WHISTLER.

Tinubu, who was accompanied on the trip by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, called on France to provide experts and investments to support his administration’s efforts in reducing unemployment and creating opportunities for Nigeria’s growing youth demographic.

“We have a vibrant youth population that is well-educated and ready to be trained, skilled and developed. I will emphasize that we need French experts and investments to help to develop our youth population,” he said.

Speaking further, Tinubu highlighted the potential in Nigeria’s solid mineral sector, urging France help to “derisk” opportunities in that sector.

He stressed that the nation is eager to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and develop alternative sectors, such as the blue economy, which includes marine and fishery industries.

Tinubu also called on his French counterpart to collaborate with Nigeria on food security for a stable and secure food system.

“No child should go to bed hungry in the world 21st century… If an African child is assured of a good sandwich in the classroom or one egg a day, there will be no fear of learning,” he stated.

Tinubu further proposed a robust partnership to address migration challenges. He thanked President Macron for France’s collaboration and expressed optimism about the potential for mutual growth and development between the two nations.

In response, President Macron acknowledged Nigeria’s growth potential and the importance of investing in educational initiatives.

He reflected on his formative experiences during a six-month internship at the French Embassy in Nigeria, including visits to Lagos and Kano.

Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, also expressed gratitude to his guests for their State Visit and promised to elevate the France-Nigeria partnership to new heights.

In a joint opinion article earlier published by Tinubu and Macron, both leaders said: “It is in our mutual interest to encourage private sector investment between our two countries. It is in our mutual interest to develop thriving creative and cultural industries that will create jobs for Nigerian and French young people. It is in our mutual interest to make sure that the Gulf of Guinea is safe for all economic activities. It is in our mutual interest to strengthen our food systems so that they are stable, secure, and not over-reliant on imports.

“We are glad that Nigeria and France are trusted partners to each other and to many countries all over the world. This trust is invaluable. This trust rules out constraint or pressure. It rules out systematic alignment. It rules out over-reliance. It leads us to respect the vision that our two countries have of their respective strategic autonomy.

“We define strategic autonomy as the ability for States to pursue their own interests without over-reliance on another state, particularly with regard to their national security and foreign policy; to choose a future for itself without foreign interference. Although the term is fairly recent, the principle of strategic autonomy is deeply rooted in the history of France and Nigeria. It is also a principle that is widely supported by the citizens of both our countries.

“Today, we want to reiterate our firm commitment to promoting this principle of strategic autonomy, not only for our two countries but also within the framework of the strategic vision that we are putting forward, as Nigeria, for Africa, and as France, for Europe.

“We will not meet the challenges of today’s world by building blocs. We will meet these challenges by reforming and renewing global governance and by adapting existing frameworks so that they enable us to work together more effectively, to reach consensus and to focus resources on solving the crucial challenges we face. To achieve this, we need global governance to be more inclusive and participatory. Even though progress has been made, more needs to be done to ensure that the entire world population, and particularly the African continent, feels truly represented in all fora.

“We need this renewed and reformed global governance to protect the achievements of previous generations, such as the body of international humanitarian law that exists today and should be implemented in the same way, whether in Gaza, in Sudan, or in Ukraine. There can be no double standard. We need it to step up our efforts to establish stronger health systems, education for all, sustainable and legal migration pathways. We need it to strengthen our resilience to climate change and to better protect biodiversity beyond national jurisdictions. Nigeria and France are proud to reaffirm today their commitment to work together in order to achieve all these objectives, and to help bring together all stakeholders, fully aware of our shared interests and horizons.”