Buhari meets WTO DG, Okonjo-Iweala on production of vaccine

President Muhammadu Buhari has met with the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, ahead of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The discussions between the duo centred on getting manufacturers of vaccines to invest in production in Nigeria, and Africa at large and help economies recover faster.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, who accompanied him to the United States alongside other appointees, spoke about the speech to be delivered by President Buhari while addressing world leaders on Friday.

“Mr President is going to be addressing the world,” he said. “So, what we will see from this is Nigeria’s vision, Mr president’s global vision on key issues of priority like development, climate change, security, women empowerment, good governance, anti-corruption, illicit financial flows, and restitution.”

While Nigeria hopes for a great outing as the general debates begin on Tuesday, President Buhari has been engaging top government officials in strategic meetings.

It was reported that a protest erupted in Manhattan, close to the United Nations Headquarters where the session is taking place.

Two groups of Nigerians in diaspora bore their minds on the state of the nation, both having opposing views about the unity of the country.

Although protests such as this have been reported at conferences like this in the past, what seems to resonate for the two parties is tackling the nation’s challenges and meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the coming years.

The theme for this year’s UNGA is, ‘Building Resilience Through Hope – To Recover from COVID-19, Rebuild Sustainably, Respond to the Needs of the Planet, Respect the Rights of People and Revitalise the United Nations.’

While in the U.S., the President and members of the delegation will partake in other events such as the high-level meeting to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the Adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, themed ‘Reparations, Racial Justice, and Equality for People of African Descent.’

He is expected back in the country on September 26.