Buhari: COVID caused serious setback — we need global cooperation to solve challenges

President Muhammadu Buhari has called for collaboration among countries to overcome the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The president stated this on Tuesday at a ceremony to receive letters of credence from the ambassadors of Bulgaria, China, Pakistan, Turkey and Ukraine.

While citing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic across the world, Buhari maintained that the international community needs to collaborate to effectively fight the virus.

“As you all settle down to your solemn duties to promote your respective national values and interests through your countries’ foreign policy on Nigeria, you should rest assured that the Federal Republic of Nigeria will engage you as we all strive to relate through effective cooperation and collaboration to enhance our collective interests,” Buhari said in a statement by Femi Adesina.

“As we are all aware, the pre-COVID-19 era was already faced with the challenge of attaining sustainable development. Some countries were even faced with additional challenges like securing their territorial integrity against violent non-state actors.

“The unprecedented crisis brought by the COVID-19 pandemic has now caused far more serious setbacks to our quests for sustainable development; hence, the need for international cooperation and collaboration to fight the disease, as no country is immune from its devastating effects on lives and livelihoods.

“These challenges underscore the need for the international community to work even more in concert with each other to collectively identify appropriate ways and manners to globally resolve these challenges.”