President Muhammadu Buhari will receive the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Althani today at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Daily Trust reports.
The emir is coming three years after President Buhari visited Doha, the Qatari capital in February 2016, where he attended a meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu confirmed the visit of the oil rich country’s emir. Shehu said, “yes, we are expecting the emir.”
In March last year, President Buhari received former Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Althani, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Buhari during his visit to Qatar, emphasised the need for member states of OPEC, and non-OPEC members to cooperate and find a common ground to stabilise crude oil prices.
At a bilateral meeting with the emir, Buhari described the then market situation in the industry, which has seen oil prices plummet by 70 per cent since mid-2014, as “totally unacceptable.”
The president invited Qatari investors to take advantage of the abundant opportunities in Nigeria and invest in the key areas of energy, agriculture, real estate development, banking and finance.
Daily Trust reports that Qatar in December last year, announced its intention to pull out of the OPEC oil producers’ cartel. The Gulf state, which joined OPEC in 1961, said it would leave the cartel to focus on gas production.
Qatar, is the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas.