DISGRACE: Qatar turns down Tinubu’s visitation request for business talk
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The government of Qatar has outrightly rejected President Bola Tinubu’s request to visit the gulf nation and hold a business and investment talk.
The Qatari government, in a letter to Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, cited the absence of a legally binding agreement between the two countries for the promotion of investment as the primary reason for its decision.
The letter, dated February 22, stressed that Qatar’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry expressed regret over its inability to stage the proposed forum on March 2 and 3.
It further noted that its commerce and industry minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim al-Thani “will be carrying out official missions outside the country during the upcoming visit period” which makes him unavailable to meet with the Nigerian leader.
“The Embassy has the honour to inform that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Qatar apologises that it will not be able to hold a Business and Investment Forum as proposed by Nigerian side” because “there is no any agreement signed between the State of Qatar and the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Investment Promotion and Protection,” the letter sent to the foreign affairs ministry on February 22 stated.
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It added that its officials would be too occupied because Qatar was hosting its own “web summit” the same time Mr Tinubu planned to visit.
“The State of Qatar will be hosting a web summit during the suggested period and the state’s authorities will be preoccupied with this event,” the letter said.
Meanwhile, failure to reschedule the business forum to a more convenient period by the Arab nation, however, suggested its unwillingness to forge any economic alliance with Nigeria.
