On Tuesday, January 23, the foreign minister of Nigeria received his US colleague in Abuja.
Anthony Blinken’s visit was centred on strengthening commercial ties and advancing democracy in West Africa, according to a tweet from Yusuf Tuggar.
Prior to a news conference, US Secretary of State and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu had talks.
According to the senior US diplomat, Nigeria is crucial to Africa’s ability to influence the destiny of the world.
“Nigeria as Africa’s largest country, largest economy, largest democracy, is essential to that effort [Editor’s note: referring to the role Africa has in shaping the future globally].”
“We are doing a lot of work together already to drive in a positive direction. We’re we’re we’re driving climate action. As partners in the Global Methane Coalition, we’re pushing for permanent representation for African voices in the U.N. Security Council, in other international organizations.”
“The United States is committed to strengthening genuine partnerships on the continent, to work to solve shared challenges, and also to deliver on the promise and the fundamental aspirations of our peoples,” Blinken said.
His trip is part of President Biden’s attempt to tout the USA as Africa’s key economic and security ally.
Nigeria is Blinken’s third stop on his tour of African nations, following Cape Verde and Ivory Coast. He will travel next to Angola.