The revitalisation of a mature and strategic political partnership between the EU and Nigeria, which should be “comprehensive, balanced and mutually beneficial”, will be the focus of the two sides’ virtual ministerial meeting on Wednesday 18 November, co-chaired by the Nigerian Foreign Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.
According to a draft declaration seen by EUROPE, both sides are expected to express their intent to hold ministerial and other high-level dialogues in the coming years on agriculture, climate change and the environment, renewable energy, the blue economy, research and innovation, trade and investment, sustainable financing, governance capacity building, the Rule of law and security, social development, the resilience of health systems, humanitarian assistance, and migration and mobility.
The two sides will discuss global health challenges and options for a sustainable post-Covid-19 recovery and long-term priorities, including Nigeria’s economic sustainability plan and the green recovery. They are expected to stress the importance of global solidarity and multilateral cooperation in the response to Covid-19.
The draft declaration also stresses the importance of strengthening the EU/Africa partnership in response to the impact of the pandemic and the global challenges faced by both continents.
The revitalised EU/Nigeria partnership under discussion is expected to focus on two main areas:
- the economy, growth and the green partnership: this section includes: - digitalisation (support for the implementation of Nigeria’s national digital economy policy and strategy and the recommendations of the African Union’s Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa; - access to energy and renewable energies (emphasis on improving access to sustainable electricity, reliability of electricity supply, and diversification of sources with an eye toward moving away from fossil fuels). Both sides are also expected to reaffirm their commitment to fully implement the Paris Climate Agreement.
- peace, governance, and social development, with a shared commitment to strengthen cooperation on peace, security, and stability and to address the root causes of conflict and persistent insecurity. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)