U.S. Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken stated this yesterday after talks with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.
Blinken, who was on a four-nation African tour, addressed reporters along with Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Maitama Tuggar.
Blinken said his talks with the President “dwelt on a range of common priorities, including our focus on accelerating economic growth and opportunity here.”
“Now, Nigeria offers real, clear, compelling opportunities for investors. At the same time, I think it’s no secret that there remains some long term challenges that need to be overcome, to really unlock the full potential, tackling corruption, making it easier for foreign companies, to repatriate capital, these will all pull in a transformative direction and pull in transformative direct investment”, he said.
The U.S. top diplomat said: “We welcome President’s bold reforms to unify the currency and end fuel subsidy.
“There remain some impediments that we hear from our own business community that I think stand in the way of maximizing those opportunities. One is the repatriation of capital. I know that the Central Bank Governor is working on that and second is the ongoing effort to combat corruption because companies that come in and invest want to make sure that they’re going to be investing with a fair level playing field and corruption, of course, is a big impediment. I do think we’re seeing real improvement”.
He added: “This (Nigeria) is a place of extraordinary innovation, extraordinary dynamism. I’ve had the opportunity to visit many times over the years. I’ve seen that each and every time and I expect to see more of that latest tomorrow.
“American entrepreneurs, American companies are eager to partner with and invest in Nigeria’s economy, particularly in the tech sector.
“We have tech giants that are teamed up with Nigerian partners to help Mr. president meet the One Million Digital Jobs Initiative. Other companies are part of work laying undersea cables, using satellite technology to expand access to the internet. Our tech incubators are fostering Nigeria’s next startups.
“Our venture capital companies are working to finance. So, we want to work in partnership to help drive Nigeria’s technological revolution, which is creating jobs. It’s growing businesses, and it’s growing innovations in both of our countries.
“Because one of the things we’ve learned from these partnerships is that it benefits us as much as any place or any company that we’re investing. We’re learning a lot from Nigeria. And one of the initiatives that President Joe Biden laid out, the digital transformation with Africa Initiative, we see it as particularly energised and triggered focus for us.”
Noting the cooperation between the US and Nigeria, Blinken said: “Nigeria, as Africa’s largest country, largest economy, largest democracy is essential to that effort. And we are doing a lot of work together already. To drive a positive direction, we’re driving climate action.
“As partners in the global nothing coalition we’re pushing for permanent representation crafting voices, the UN Security Council in other international organizations that need to reflect the realities of today, not just the day that they were created, many years ago.”
He added: “We’re working in collaboration to support the development and use of artificial intelligence for good with 30 other Atlantic countries. We’re driving blue economic development, environmental protection, science and technology exchange, through a new partnership for learning cooperation.”