The United Kingdom and Nigeria have agreed on a strategic partnership that will elevate the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
The agreement was reached when the UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, the Right Honourable David Lammy MP, met President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the State House in Abuja, according to a statement from the UK High Commission in Nigeria.
The Strategic Partnership was signed by the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar and Foreign Secretary David Lammy and will serve as a framework for the UK and Nigeria to advance cooperation on a range of priority issues, including economic growth, foreign policy and security.
The Strategic Partnership also confirms a commitment between the two governments to hold a Nigeria-UK Bi-National Commission, which will provide a vehicle to assess the Strategic Partnership and discuss issues of high mutual importance.
The Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, said: “Nigeria is the first country I have visited in Africa as Foreign Secretary because our relationship is important and there are exciting opportunities to strengthen it further.
“I am delighted to have agreed today to a new Nigeria-UK Strategic Partnership. This is an overarching framework covering the breadth of what we do together from growth and jobs to national security, tackling the climate and nature crisis to strengthening our people-to-people ties.”
The Foreign Secretary also met the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Yemi Cardoso, to discuss UK support for Nigeria’s economic reforms and mutual economic growth opportunities.
During his visit, the Foreign Secretary initiated a package of support for Nigeria’s economic reforms through three pillars of the UK Centre of Expertise on Public Finance.
The three pillars are Peer-to-peer support between His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs Capacity Building Unit and the Nigerian Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS); the UK’s Institute of Fiscal and Studies and Overseas Development Institute collaborating with the Nigerian Ministry of Finance on tax policy; and delivery of a major new initiative through the Public Finance Resource Centre, starting in Nigeria in 2025.
The collaboration between Nigerian and UK institutions who are sharing technical knowledge on critical reforms will support the use of evidence in tax policy formulation, help raise tax revenues in line with the government’s objectives and improve public financial management systems so that revenues are used effectively.
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