German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul described Nigeria as a key partner of Berlin in Africa. “We just want to deepen our cooperation,” he said after talks with his Nigerian counterpart, Yusuf Tuggar, on Thursday.
“For both the European Union and Germany, the African continent is the continent of the future,” Wadephul added.
There are “an incredible number of opportunities” to expand the economic cooperation with African countries, said the German minister, citing the example of rare earths, abundant in many parts of Africa.
Wadephul said that he wanted to encourage the German private sector to become more involved in Nigeria and used car manufacturer Volkswagen as a positive example of this.
Wadephul also highlighted the issue migrants and refugees crossing the Mediterranean Sea and heading to Europe, specifically Germany.
“We have with Nigeria an ideal partner to discuss how we can tackle this problem. We agreed to cooperate very closely,” he added.
‘Nigeria is blessed with critical minerals’
Meanwhile, Tuggar emphasized that Nigeria is already Germany’s second largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Nigerian minister held out the prospect of intensifying trade relations, particularly in critical raw materials. “Nigeria is blessed with a lot of critical minerals,” he said.
Tuggar also announced closer cooperation in energy sector, including on renewable energies, and labor migration.
With over 220 million inhabitants, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa. “Projections show that by 2050 we’ll have 400 million people,” Tuggar said.
“What we are looking to do is not to export people but to export talent,” he explained. “That’s why we are looking to work with countries like Germany on structured solutions to job creation and to tackling the issues of irregular migration.”
German-Nigerian relations
According to the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Berlin views Nigeria as a key player in promoting stability and democracy in the broader region, as well as a country with significant economic potential.
In December, German President Steinmeier visited Nigeria with a business delegation. The German-Nigerian Binational Commission, founded in 2011, has working groups in business, energy, politics, culture, and migration. The commission last met in 2021.
New impetus was injected into cultural relations by the return of the first Benin Bronzes to Nigeria by then Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in December 2022.
To combat terrorist threats, the German government is training and equipping Nigerian security forces and contributing to transnational stabilization projects.
Energy partnership
Nigeria is Germany’s second-largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa. The German Ministry of Foreign Affairs has identified energy cooperation as a key focus area for bilateral economic relations.
The German-Nigerian Energy Partnership, established in 2008, expanded in 2021 in line with the German government’s National Hydrogen Strategy with the opening of a hydrogen office in Abuja.
Priorities of development cooperation with Nigeria include sustainable economic development, vocational training, employment, rural development, expanding renewables, and healthcare.
Edited by: Kieran Burke
