Saudi leaders pledge support as Nigeria continues anti-terrorism effort

Nigerian and Saudi Arabian leaders met Tuesday to discuss strategies to stabilize the oil market in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

The meeting took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and was hosted by King Salman Bin Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia. Abdul-Aziz discussed the threat of terrorist acts in the region and ways to prevent them with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. 

“I must thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the recent creation of a coalition to address the menace of international terrorism," Buhari said. "Nigeria will support your efforts in keeping peace and stopping the spread of terror in your region. This is in consonance with our own commitment and ongoing efforts in seeking to stamp out Boko Haram terrorists from the West African sub-region and Lake Chad Basin Commission.

Buhari lauded the government of Saudi Arabia for backing Nigeria as it developed strategies to combat terrorism, noting that the West African nations of Burkina Faso and Mali were also dealing with terrorist threats.

“Luckily, we have cultivated our neighbors," Buhari said. "We are now working together against Boko Haram; otherwise, the problem would have become worse.”

Bin Abdul-Aziz said he was impressed with Nigeria's commitment to ending terrorism and said Saudi Arabia would continue to lend its support in such efforts.

“I now instruct my team to go and sit down with your relevant agencies to push forward cooperation between our states,” Abdul-Aziz said.