By Stella Odueme
Nigeria and the United States have signed a framework agreement aimed at deepening American investment in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector and unlocking the country’s estimated $700 billion mineral resources.
The agreement was signed and exchanged on Wednesday at Nigeria’s Mission House in New York by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, and the US Deputy Secretary of State, Christopher Landau.
The Federal Government said the framework would leverage the Nigeria-US government relationship to facilitate business-to-business transactions and strengthen value addition across the country’s mineral value chain.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Alake described the agreement as a landmark development capable of shaping the future of Nigeria’s mining industry.
According to a statement by his Special Adviser, Kehinde Bamigbetan, the minister said Nigeria was determined to move beyond the export of raw minerals by promoting local processing, skills development, job creation and greater participation of Nigerian businesses in the sector.
“Some agreements manage the present, and some agreements shape the future. The framework we sign today belongs to the second kind,” Alake said.
He added that the agreement reflected a shared commitment by both countries to ensuring that critical mineral supply chains were secure, resilient and based on responsible investment.
According to him, the framework would facilitate cooperation in geological data and exploration, mineral development and processing, infrastructure development and technical capacity building.
Alake said the implementation of the agreement would support the economic diversification objectives of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda while accelerating industrial development.
“Now comes the harder and more important work: moving from agreement to implementation. A signature is a promise, results are the proof,” he said.
The minister said Nigeria would, in the coming months, identify viable projects, mobilise investments and develop commercial partnerships capable of delivering measurable benefits to both countries.
Responding, Landau said the United States regarded Nigeria as a regional power and a country deserving of a strong partnership with Washington
