Nigerian Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) Ambassador Tijjani Muhammad-Bande says the country will continue to champion global tax cooperation discourse at the 78th Session of UN General Assembly (UNGA) which begins today.
The Nigerian delegation had during the 77th Session presented a resolution entitled: “Promotion of Inclusive and effective International Tax Cooperation at the United Nations’’.
The resolution laid the foundation for the creation of a new system of international tax cooperation that is universal in scope and approach.
Member states agreed for the first time to have a convention on tax cooperation and to discuss global tax issues and review progress yearly.
The motion, submitted for consideration by Nigeria on behalf of 54-member African Group of States, was adopted by consensus after some discussions on a failed amendment.
Muhammad-Bande told reporters in New York, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), that the resolution was important in the context of financing for development, noting that the element of taxation was connected to illicit flows.
He said: “All the conversations are continuing; the resolution on taxation itself, we are just at the beginning of the process, now that it has been mandated that something be done.
Apart from the resolution, the envoy said African states did well by bringing issues that were important to them alongside developing countries at the 77th Session of the General Assembly.
He said the Assembly is not just about developing or developed countries, adding: “It is about humanity as issues on human rights, climate change and post COVID-19 recovery have always been on the table for discussion.”
Muhammad-Bande said it has been difficult for countries, especially in the South, to recover from the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The envoy said that it was difficult to recover faster from COVID-19 because of indebtedness of some countries, which had made it difficult for them to finance development.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will tomorrow present Nigeria’s statement on the first day of the General Assembly.
He will speak at 11pm Nigeria time as the 11th head of states to address the meeting.
After the welcoming address by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Brazilian President Lula Inacio will be the first President to speak, United States President Joe Biden will then address the Assembly. The U.S. President as leader of the country hosting the UN Secretariat, traditionally is number two to speak.
Tinubu, others to mark halftime of SDGs in New York
President Tinubu will today join world leaders to participate in the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (UN 2023 Summit on SDGs) as world body marks the halftime of the SDGs.
He arrived New York on Sunday to attend the UNGA.
President Tinubu’s address will encompass several issues such as sustainable development, climate change, global cooperation, and the imperative to address inequalities and global humanitarian crises.
On Wednesday, the President is slated to participate in the high-level dialogue on financing for development.
He will attend a meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response.
On Thursday, President Tinubu will participate in the UN Secretary General’s Climate Ambition Summit and attend a high-level meeting on Universal Health Coverage. He will join another high-level panel on reform of the global financial architecture.
On Friday, he will be attending the meeting on the fight against tuberculosis.
During the week, He is scheduled to hold several bilateral meetings with world leaders, including the Presidents of the European Union Commission, Brazil and South Africa.
The President will also advance his economic development agenda for aggressive investments attraction in meetings with the global leadership of transnational firms.
The firms are Microsoft, Meta Technologies, Exxon Mobil, and General Electric.
Also, the president will elaborate on emerging cross-sectoral investment opportunities in Nigeria in his address to American business leaders at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
At the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) Headquarters in New York, Tinubu will be the first Nigerian leader to conduct the closing ceremony during its trading session.
The president will also address the Nigerian SMEs Business Summit where he will highlight the increasingly important role of Nigerian enterprises in global trade.
To mark halftime of the SDGs, a new SDG Pavilion has been constructed at the UN headquarters in New York, which will host an art exhibition during the session.
