- Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Climate Financing, Titi Oshodi; Chairman, SIFAX Group, Dr Taiwo Afolabi; Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Jimoh Ibrahim; former Chairman, O’odua Investment Company, Bimbo Ashiru; Group Managing Director, O’odua Investment Company, Abdulrahman Yinusa; and the Special Adviser to Ogun State Governor on Development Partners Coordination, Dr Bayo Adenekan, at the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Global Executive Roundtable in New York, United States
By Felix Iwebunor
With infrastructure, employment, trade, and economic opportunity capable of addressing some of the structural conditions that make societies vulnerable to instability, Sifax Group Chairman, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, has called for stronger integration of economic investment into the global framework for conflict prevention.
He urged the international community to move beyond responding to conflicts to putting greater emphasis on preventive diplomacy, sustainable development and economic inclusion.
Afolabi, who spoke in New York, the United States, at the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Global Executive Roundtable on Diplomacy, Multilateralism and Conflict Resolution, said that peace and prosperity are mutually reinforcing.
“Peace creates the environment for investment, investment creates opportunity, and opportunity strengthens the foundations of peace,” the Sifax Group Head, Corporate Communications, Olumuyiwa Akande, cited Afolabi to say.
According to him, the world is currently confronted by a combination of geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, climate pressures, inequality and declining trust in institutions. These challenges, he emphasised, require a coordinated response built around diplomacy, multilateralism, conflict resolution and sustainable economic development.
He stressed that the relationship between peace and development is particularly important for Africa, where infrastructure deficits, financing constraints, trade barriers and limited economic opportunities continue to affect the continent’s development prospects.
Against this background, “Africa’s peace-building agenda must be accompanied by an investment agenda. We need investment in transport infrastructure, ports, energy, technology, manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, education and human capital,” Afolabi said.
He further called for stronger regional value chains and improved connectivity across African economies, stressing that the successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) requires more than trade agreements.
“Trade and connectivity can create shared interests among nations. The success of AfCFTA depends not only on trade agreements but on infrastructure, efficient logistics, digital systems, financing and political cooperation,” he explained.
Afolabi also highlighted the role of the private sector in creating economic connections that can strengthen cooperation between communities, businesses and countries.
Drawing on SIFAX Group’s experience across maritime, logistics, aviation, financial services, oil and gas and hospitality, he said infrastructure and connectivity should be viewed not merely as commercial activities but as important components of economic development.
“A functioning logistics system can connect farmers to markets, manufacturers to consumers, businesses to international value chains and countries to one another,” he said.
He added that these economic connections can generate shared interests and incentives for cooperation, making infrastructure an important component of a broader peacebuilding strategy.
