Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar (OON), has announced that he will undertake a working visit to the United Kingdom to deepen and enhance Nigeria-UK ties in business, diplomacy, and other strategic areas of cooperation across key sectors.
The minister disclosed this in a statement on Sunday via his X page, adding that the bilateral visit will hold from March 2 to March 5, 2025.
According to him, the visit underscores Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening bilateral ties with the UK, fostering collaboration in areas of mutual interest, and advancing shared priorities on regional and global issues.
Objectives and Expected Outcomes
- Tuggar emphasized that the working visit aims to strengthen diplomatic relations through high-level engagements with UK officials, reinforcing shared interests in governance, security, and regional stability.
- He added that he intends to showcase Nigeria’s economic potential to UK investors, with a focus on infrastructure, technology, energy, and agribusiness to boost trade and investment.
Among the key objectives of the visit, he highlighted:
- Expanding security cooperation through intelligence briefings and strategic defense discussions.
- Promoting Nigeria’s global image through media engagements and academic partnerships to enhance cultural and knowledge exchanges.
- Highlighting the visit’s benefits to Nigeria, he stated that it “presents an opportunity to deepen Nigeria-UK ties across diplomacy, business, security, and culture while advancing Nigeria’s interests in global affairs.”
More Insights
- The minister further explained that the Nigerian government expects to engage with key media stakeholders to highlight Nigeria’s foreign policy priorities and global standing while enhancing collaborations in academia, technological advancements, and research between Nigerian and UK institutions.
- He also disclosed that the Nigerian delegation will participate in high-level discussions on technology and trade, focusing on Nigeria’s economic diversification, investment climate, and digital transformation.
- He expressed optimism that the visit would also strengthen collaboration on security and intelligence sharing to combat insecurity and instability in the Sahel and West Africa.
What You Should Know
- According to a UK government fact sheet, total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Nigeria reached £7.5 billion in the four quarters leading to the end of Q3 2024, representing a 5.6% increase (£397 million) compared to the four quarters ending in Q3 2023.
- Of this £7.5 billion, UK exports to Nigeria amounted to £5.3 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2024, while total UK imports from Nigeria stood at £2.2 billion—a 12.2% decline (£309 million) compared to the four quarters ending in Q3 2023.
- The UK ranked Nigeria as its 36th largest trading partner in the four quarters leading to the end of Q3 2024, accounting for 0.4% of total UK trade.
