Strengthening Bonds: Nigeria and US Partner to Boost Mining Sector
In an effort to enhance collaboration in the mining sector, Nigeria and the United States have established a joint working group to formalise their strategic partnership. This development follows high-level meetings between officials from both countries, with the goal of promoting investment and development in the mining industry.
Recently, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, engaged in discussions with United States Deputy Chief of Mission, David Greene, in Abuja to lay the groundwork for the partnership. Subsequently, a meeting took place in Cape Town, South Africa, bringing together a Nigerian government delegation led by Dr. Alake and a US government delegation headed by Amos Hochstein, the senior advisor to the US President on energy and infrastructure.
Hochstein expressed the United States’ keen interest in collaborating with Nigeria to drive investments and provide technical assistance in the mining sector. He underscored the importance of addressing infrastructural needs to make investments more attractive and announced ongoing collaboration with the Nigerian government on financing clean energy options.
In response, Minister Alake praised the US government for its interest in the mining industry and proposed the establishment of a joint working group to facilitate collaboration and information flow between the two countries. He also conveyed Nigeria’s ongoing reforms in the mining sector to create an enabling environment for investors.
Furthermore, the executive secretary of the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), Fatima Shinkafi, offered insights into the fund’s resources and highlighted the partnership between SMDF and the African Finance Corporation (AFC) to deploy additional resources for generating geo-scientific data.
Subsequent to these discussions, both nations selected members to form the working group, signifying the commencement of substantive deliberations. The US delegation, led by Amos Hochstein, comprised high-ranking officials from various departments, while the Nigerian delegation included officials from the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, the Mining Cadastral Office, and the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency.
The establishment of the joint working group represents a significant step towards strengthening the partnership between Nigeria and the United States in the mining industry. The collaboration aims to foster investment, infrastructural development, and technical assistance, benefiting both nations and paving the way for mutual growth and development.
