The United Kingdom (UK) Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, David Lammy, on Monday met President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the State House in Abuja, agreeing on a Strategic Partnership that will elevate the bilateral relationship between the UK and Nigeria.
According to a statement by the British High Commission, the Strategic Partnership was signed by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar and Foreign Secretary David Lammy and will serve as a framework for the UK and Nigeria to advance cooperation on a range of priority issues, including economic growth, foreign policy and security.
The Strategic Partnership also confirms a commitment between the two governments to hold a Nigeria-UK Bi-National Commission, which will provide a vehicle to assess the Strategic Partnership and discuss issues of high mutual importance.
The Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, said: “Nigeria is the first country I have visited in Africa as Foreign Secretary because our relationship is important and there are exciting opportunities to strengthen it further.
“I am delighted to have agreed today a new Nigeria-UK Strategic Partnership. This is an overarching framework covering the breadth of what we do together from growth and jobs to national security, tackling the climate and nature crisis to strengthening our people-to-people ties.”
The Foreign Secretary also met the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Yemi Cardoso, to discuss UK support for Nigeria’s economic reforms and mutual economic growth opportunities.
During his visit, the Foreign Secretary initiated a package of support for Nigeria’s economic reforms through three pillars of the UK Centre of Expertise on Public Finance. The collaboration between Nigerian and UK institutions who are sharing technical knowledge on critical reforms will support use of evidence in tax policy formulation, help raise tax revenues in line with government’s objectives and improve public financial management systems so that revenues are used effectively.