Nigeria and Angola on Saturday agreed to cooperate and also reach out to other oil producing countries in an effort to shore up the dwindling price of oil in the global market.
This understanding was struck when Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and his Angolan counterpart, Jose Eduardo dos Santos met at the sidelines of the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Johannesburg, South Africa.
According to Femi Adesina,Special Adviser to the President ,Media & Publicity,President Buhari, who agreed with President Eduardo dos Santos that there was no logic in producing more oil for less money, called for a new consensus among oil producing nations on the current level of oil price.
The two leaders while acknowledging that their countries depend heavily on oil for sustaining their national economies, agreed to get their oil ministers to meet urgently with a view to finding a way forward.
President Eduardo dos Santos had earlier thanked President Buhari for sending a delegation to his country’s 40th Independence anniversary this year. He also expressed sympathy with Nigeria on its security challenges, noting however, that he believed that President Buhari is the right person to restore peace to Nigeria given his military background.
He described Nigeria as a very important country in Africa that is traditionally looked upon to help solve problems on the continent, adding that his country and Nigeria which share similar security and oil challenges in the Gulf of Guinea must forge closer relationship to overcome the mutual problems.
President Eduardo dos Santos said he looked forward to meeting President Buhari again and invited him to visit Angola next year with a view to finding solutions to common problems and deepening bilateral relations.