UK, Nigeria to Strengthen Bilateral Ties

Mnena Iyorkegh, Abuja

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The United Kingdom and Nigeria are poised to strengthen their bilateral ties for mutual benefits.

This initiative is a central focus of UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s visit to Nigeria, marking his first official trip to the African continent.

During discussions with Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, Lammy expressed his commitment to a renewed and productive partnership with Africa.

“I think it underlies the importance of the relationship between the United Kingdom and Nigeria. In so many ways, the people-to-people connections, the deep diasporan community across the UK, the historic and cultural ties are second to none,” Lammy said.

While commending Nigeria’s huge creativity and depth of innovation, the UK Foreign Secretary said Nigeria’s art and culture, if properly harnessed, could attract enormous investment.

“There’s a real dynamism when you arrive in this country. There’s a sense of it being the beating heart in so many ways of the continent of Africa. So it’s very exciting to be here. I’m looking forward to us building a very key and important relationship in these challenging geopolitical times and to signing a new strategic partnership, which will be very important for our country.”

While in Lagos, the UK Foreign Secretary launched a pivotal report in Lagos, highlighting Africa’s potential to play a major role in the global battery supply chain.

The report, entitled “From Minerals to Manufacturing: Africa’s Competitiveness in Global Battery Supply Chains,” emphasizes Africa’s opportunity to shift from raw mineral extraction to refining, assembling, and manufacturing batteries.

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The initiative is part of the UK’s Manufacturing Africa programme, in partnership with the Faraday Institution, the UK’s leading research body on batteries and energy storage.

“The report projects that just one high-quality refinery per mineral could bring an estimated USD 6.8 billion in revenue and create approximately 3,500 jobs across Africa, strengthening the continent’s presence in the global battery market.”

Earlier, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, said Nigeria and the UK have a lot in common and must leverage areas of comparative advantage to stimulate growth.

“We feel that this is a very good beginning in the relationship between both of us, but of course the relationship between the United Kingdom and Nigeria goes way back. And we have some major strides that we will be announcing at the end of this engagement. We had a very good engagement in New York,” Ambassador Tuggar said.

The Foreign Secretary is expected to start a five-month consultation process to ensure African voices inform and sit at the very heart of the UK’s new approach to the continent.

The move is to accommodate the diverse needs and ambitions of 54 African countries and guarantee that the UK’s relationships across Africa are based on mutual respect and partnership.

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