The International Relations and Affairs Alliance (IRAA), on Wednesday, commended the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, on Nigeria’s international engagement which has secured trillions of Naira in foreign commitments.
The statement, signed by the leader of the group, Mrs Adewusi Bakare, said Tuggar, through his international engagements, had signed no fewer than 26 Memoranda of Understanding with foreign countries and agencies in the last 12 months.
It said: “The MoUs are in the areas of infrastructure, education, trade and investment, tourism, security, Information/Technology, culture, energy and gas, and sports. The MoUs are valued at over N4.2tn.”
The total amount could be higher, as the worth of many of the agreements was not specified in the document obtained from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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According to the document, the government signed an MoU with India to boost the trade volume between Nigeria and India in February 2024.
Also, the country signed a $500m renewable energy and gas deal with Germany in November 2023. Nigeria also signed an MoU with Russia on nuclear energy on September 27, 2023.
On infrastructure, Nigeria signed an MoU with China to provide infrastructure worth about $2bn on October 20, 2023.
Also, FG signed another MoU with China to develop and establish a $150m Lithium-Ion battery manufacturing and processing factory in Nigeria on December 9, 2023.
In the education sector, the country signed MoUs with Russia and Qatar on December 222, 2023, and March 3, 2024, respectively.
“In Trade/Investment, Nigeria, through the MFA, signed an MoU with India to boost the trade volume between Nigeria and India in February 2024.
“Nigeria, through the MFA, signed an MoU with the State of Qatar to establish a Joint Business Council between the NACCIMA and Qatar Chamber on March 3, 2024.
“Nigeria, through the MFA, signed an MoU with Lab Four on the provision of 50,000 full-time business process outsourcing jobs to Nigeria over the next three years on March 19, 2024,” the document added.
To strengthen national security, Nigeria signed two agreements with the United Nations Office on Counter-Terrorism on August 30, 2023, to enhance their collaboration in preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism.
Additionally, on January 30, 2024, Nigeria signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United States to train commanders of the Police Special Intervention Squad in combating banditry and other crimes.
To promote cultural preservation, Nigeria signed an MoU with the United States on February 16, 2024, to preserve the UNESCO cultural heritage site in Adamawa State.
In the field of technology, Nigeria also secured a $600m I-DICE Financial Agreement with France on November 3, 2023, aimed at supporting digital and creative enterprises.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, recently, engaged in high-level discussions with the Foreign Ministers of Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and representatives from Norway and Denmark.
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