Nigeria and the United States have signed a landmark framework aimed at unlocking investment in Nigeria’s estimated $700 billion mineral resources and deepening bilateral cooperation in the critical minerals sector.
Nigeria broke new ground in a drive to woo the United States to invest in the mining sector at a historic agreement-signing ceremony at Nigeria’s Mission House on Wednesday in New York, United States.
The agreement, signed and exchanged at Nigeria’s Mission House in New York by Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, and US Deputy Secretary of State, Christopher Landau, is expected to provide a framework for US-backed investment and business-to-business partnerships across Nigeria’s mining value chain.
Alake described the signed and exchanged agreement as a framework for American investment in Nigeria’s $700 billion mineral resources.
The agreement is expected to use the Nigeria-US government relationship as a foundation for business-to-business transactions to boost Nigeria’s value-addition-driven value chain.
Welcoming Landau and the United States delegation to the ceremony, Alake spoke glowingly of the agreement as a development that will shape the future.
Alake said: “Some agreements manage the present, and some agreements shape the future. The framework we sign today belongs to the second kind. In signing this Framework, Nigeria and the United States affirm a shared conviction: that the supply chains for these critical minerals must be secure, resilient and built on responsible investment.
“But let me be clear about Nigeria’s ambition. We are not here to remain a source of raw material for the values that others create. Our goal is to turn potential into lasting value at home through stronger local processing, new skills, quality jobs, and new opportunities for Nigerian businesses.”
According to Alake, the framework opens the way for both countries to cooperate and collaborate on geological data and exploration, mineral development and processing, infrastructure, and technical capacity.
He said the implementation will achieve the economic diversification goals of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and boost industrial growth.
He added, “Now comes the harder and more important work: moving from agreement to implementation. A signature is a promise, results are the proof. In the months ahead, we will identify viable projects, mobilise investments and build the commercial partnerships that deliver measurable benefits to our nations.”
Responding, Deputy Secretary of State Landau concurred with Nigeria’s position, adding that as Africa’s fastest-growing economy and most populous country, Nigeria is a regional power that deserves partnership with the United States.
He said the agreement will bring greater prosperity to both countries and that the United States is happy to supportNigeria’s economic growth
Landau said: “The signal we are sending is that the United States and Nigeria are partners. Under President Trump and President Tinubu’s leadership, the United States and Nigeria have done many things together in the last one and a half years that we’ve never done before. I think we will like to keep building on that momentum.”
In a statement by Kehinde Bamigbetan, the Special Adviser to Minister Alake, noted that the US delegation were Deputy Assistant Secretary for West African Affairs, Rich Michaels; Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Southern Africa, Foreign Assistance and Critical Minerals, Chris Kulukundis; Senior Policy Advisor to the Deputy Secretary, Wyatt Toehlkeke; and Jitu Sardar.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Oluwo, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, Engr Yusuf Yabo, Director-General, Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office, Engr Simon Nkom, Executive Secretary, Solid Minerals Development Fund, Hajiya Fatima Shinkafi and Chief Executive Officer Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, Martin Imonitie witnessed the event.
