COVID-19 caused serious setbacks to quests for development – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said the COVID-19 pandemic had caused far more serious setbacks to quests for sustainable development.

He said this at a ceremony to receive Letters of Credence from Ambassadors of Republic of Bulgaria, Mr Yanko Yordanou, People’s Republic of China, Mr Cui Jianchun, High Commissioner of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Mr Muhammad Tayyab Azan, Ambassadors of Republic of Turkey, Mr Hidayet Bayraktar and Ukraine, Valerii Kirdoda, at the State House, Abuja.

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Buhari, according to a statement by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, called for joint international efforts to tackle menace of COVID-19, with spillovers into dwindling national economies that he said would require a global framework to ameliorate burden of struggling citizens, and re-ignite growth.

He stressed the need for greater unity of purpose and concerted efforts to address common challenges such as climate change, terrorism, insurgency and population growth.