The Presidency has said that President Bola Tinubu’s diplomatic engagements over the past two years have attracted over $50 billion in Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) to Nigeria.

Ambassador Sola Enikanolaye, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and International Relations, disclosed this on Monday during a mid-term assessment of President Tinubu’s foreign policy achievements.

According to Enikanolaye, President Tinubu has undertaken 36 international trips since his inauguration on 29 May 2023, visiting countries across Africa, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas.

These include Benin Republic, Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, the Vatican, the United States, Brazil, China, India, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.

“These trips have elevated Nigeria’s diplomatic profile globally and translated into tangible economic gains,” Enikanolaye said.

He listed major FDI commitments from multinational corporations including ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, Shell, Apple, Coca-Cola, Jindal Steel, Indorama, Arise, Maersk, and Afreximbank. The presidency also highlighted a waste-to-wealth industrial facility planned for Lagos as part of the inflows.

He added that Nigeria’s upgraded strategic partnership with China now includes infrastructure projects, currency swap agreements, and broader economic cooperation.

Beyond financial investment, Enikanolaye noted that skills transfer and technological advancements tied to the FDIs were equally vital, though less quantifiable.

Commenting on environmental diplomacy, he said Nigeria remains active in global climate discussions, with Tinubu advocating for increased climate finance access and raising issues such as rising sea levels, shrinking of Lake Chad, and erratic rainfall.

He also announced that Nigeria had gained 16,300 square kilometres of maritime territory under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea – an expansion of the country’s continental shelf with significant potential for maritime security and the blue economy.

Dismissing criticism of the President’s frequent travels, Enikanolaye argued that such visits were critical to repositioning Nigeria globally.

“It is ludicrous to criticise the President’s international engagements. What matters now is full implementation of the gains recorded, so the benefits are directly felt by Nigerians,” he said.