Presidential Research & Communications Unit

The Vice President, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, on Thursday, February 4, received letters of credence from two new Ambassadors and two High Commissioners to Nigeria during separate ceremonies at the State House, Presidential Villa, Abuja .

The Ambassadors are Mr. Saad Abdullah Al-Assousi of Kuwait and Mr. Miroslav Kumarov of Bulgaria while the High Commissioners are Alhaji Issifu Baba-Braimah Kamara of Ghana and Mr. Derek Leask of New Zealand , a non resident envoy.

The Vice President congratulated Al-Assousi on his appointment as the pioneer resident Ambassador to Nigeria and assured him of maximum cooperation.

He thanked the Government of Kuwait for assisting Nigerian students in the areas of training and sponsorship and urged the new envoy to link up with the Foreign Affairs Ministry to work out possible bilateral agreement on trade relations.

Vice President Jonathan said Nigeria and Bulgaria have enjoyed extensive and cordial diplomatic relations for a long time. He said both countries should work out ways to strengthen the relationship particularly in the area of trade.

He welcomed the Ghanaian ambassador to Nigeria noting that the relations between both countries dated back to the days of Gold Coast, and emphasized the need for Nigeria and Ghana to see themselves as brothers.

The Vice President said the relations between Nigeria and New Zealand are quite significant as members of the Commonwealth. He noted that Nigeria as an agro-based society will take the advantage of the frontier role New Zealand plays in the field of agriculture.

``We recognize your potential in the field of agriculture particularly in the area of dairy processing. Our relations should go beyond exportation of dairy products to us, but by adding value to our own products to provide employment opportunities for our people,'' he said.

Earlier, the envoys from Kuwait and Bulgaria had respectively requested for improved and excellent relations between their countries and Nigeria.

Mr. Kamara of Ghana estimated Nigerians investment in Ghana as over 22 million US Dollars particularly in the Telecom and ICT sectors.

The New Zealand High Commissioner commended Nigeria for the central role it plays in the international affairs in general and African affairs in particular.