Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe should work closely to provide security and stability in the Gulf of Guinea sub-region, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said here Tuesday.

Meeting with visiting of Sao Tome and Principe Prime Minister Maria do Carmo Silveira at the State House Abuja, Obasanjo said " the Gulf of Guinea has become the cynosure of world attention, next to the Middle East."

He noted that other than ongoing bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the area of oil exploration and exploitation, Nigeria and Sao Tome could also cooperate in the fields of agricultural, educational and tourism development.

Silveira, the first prime minister of her country to visit Nigeria, said as part of its plans to "concretize" its enhanced relations with Nigeria, her country would set up an embassy in Abuja in the shortest possible time.

The Prime Minister also told President Obasanjo that her government welcomed the interest of Nigerian investors in the economy of Sao Tome and Principe and was currently working on a law to protect all foreign investments.

Earlier, Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar also met the visiting Sao Tome and Principe prime minister, describing the Gulf of Guinea region as "common heritage" of the two countries which holds the key to the Nigerian-Sao Tome joint development.

"Security in the gulf is a priority issue for Nigeria and should be for all the countries in the region," Atiku said, adding that the world demand for crude continued to increase and the Gulf of Guinea "is becoming the biggest source of sweet and light crude. "

He said the two countries had a special interest in ensuring peace, cooperation and stability in the sub-region.

Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe in 2001 established the JDA to manage their joint development zone as a way to deal with a lingering border dispute and pool resources together for development.

The two countries that make up the Gulf of Guinea have also established a Gulf of Guinea Commission which has been ratified by the national assemblies of Nigeria, Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe.

Source: Xinhua