Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has met with the heads of diplomatic missions in Lagos as parts of efforts aimed at not only strengthening relationships with the expatriate community but also fostering collaboration as well as improve the ease of doing business in the state.

The governor, who met with diplomat at an event tagged ‘Diplomatic Recognition of Governor Sanwo-Olu’ was attended by envoys from Benin Republic, Burkina-Faso, Cameroun, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Spain, USA, India, Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Switzerland and South Africa. 

Sanwo-Olu stated that the meeting was aimed at engaging with the diplomatic missions on areas of collaboration between the state and their various countries aside helping to intervene in areas the missions may be having challenges.

Providing a summary and an insight to what was discussed at the forum after the meeting, Sanwo-Olu said: “What we’ve just had is an interaction with some cabinet members of Lagos State and the Diplomatic mission in Lagos, all of them. And we have had an evening of interaction, collaboration and further engagements. To understand ourselves better, and appreciate their needs in Lagos, in terms of building the bridges between our countries.

“And Lagos, where exactly does Lagos sit exactly in these? How can officials make their jobs a lot better? How can we create a mutually beneficial interaction between Nigeria and the various countries represented?

“But more importantly, how do we create an ecosystem of continuous interaction? Understanding what our various roles are and building a collaborative engagement for it.”

The governor underscored the importance of creating a collaborative ecosystem that benefits both Nigeria and the expatriate community. According to the governor, the diplomats also provided useful suggestions and areas of collaborations that would be beneficial to both parties.