The European Union (EU) has identified Nigeria as its leading trade and investment partner, with total trade volume reaching an impressive €35 billion in 2023.
This was disclosed by the newly appointed EU ambassador to Nigeria, Gautier Mignot, during his maiden press conference in Abuja. Ambassador Mignot emphasised the EU’s unwavering commitment to deepening its partnership with Nigeria, focusing on promoting peace, sustainable development, job creation, and youth empowerment.
The ambassador highlighted the importance of Nigeria’s strategic role in EU-Africa relations and reiterated the union’s dedication to fostering mutual growth and prosperity through collaborative efforts.
“Nigeria remains the EU’s largest trading partner in Africa, accounting for 28% of its total trade. With a €10.7 billion trade surplus in Nigeria’s favour and €26.4 billion in foreign direct investment stock, we are deeply committed to supporting President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda. The relationship between the European Union (EU) and Nigeria is rooted in political, economic, and developmental cooperation, reflecting mutual interests in areas such as trade, security, governance, migration, and climate change,” Mignot said.
The ambassador, who took over from Samuela Isopi in September, outlined his mission to elevate the EU-Nigeria partnership to greater heights.
“The first aspect of our mission is to give visibility, more visibility, to what we are already achieving in Nigeria and with Nigeria. The second part is to impose new initiatives and projects to exploit the untapped potential of this partnership. So we are already doing a lot.
We have a global and strong partnership between the EU and Nigeria based on shared values, human rights, democracy, the rule of law, multilateralism and international law, and based on common interests. And we are very transparent about our interests in Nigeria in this partnership. The EU’s interest is to see Nigeria consolidate its role as an anchor of stability in Africa and progress on its path towards a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable future, resting on a robust democracy and allowing all citizens to enjoy their fundamental rights.”
He also noted that the EU’s focus is on addressing challenges in northern Nigeria, fostering entrepreneurship, and improving peace and security.
While describing Nigeria as a key player in Africa and the world, Ambassador Mignot added that he hopes to engage with the country’s vibrant culture and dynamic entrepreneurial spirit.
“We want to impose new initiatives and projects and exploit this untapped potential we have identified in our partnership. First, we would like to better structure the economic relations and dialogue to address and remove the issues that hamper more investment, more European investment in Nigeria and more trade. Because currently, we have no agreement or no dialogue framework with Nigeria on trade and economic issues. Through the global gateway strategy I have just mentioned and the investment agenda, we want to focus more on creating jobs and opportunities, especially for young people in Nigeria, building on Nigerians’ great sense of entrepreneurship and in sectors like the green economy, digital, agri-food and health. And this is actually already an ongoing work. And we want to pay special attention to the north of the country, where there are specific needs but also a great sense of entrepreneurship again.”
He further called on the press to collaborate with the EU to combat misinformation and enhance public awareness of their shared achievements.
We have to combat, not only in Nigeria but in other parts of West Africa and the world, disinformation and misconceptions. Disinformation is sometimes fostered by people and foreign interests, or simply in many cases misconceptions from people of good faith who seem to be ill-informed or influenced by fake news or disinformation. And of course here the role is very important; the press has a very important role to play as a clinging house, let’s say, to explain to people and make the difference between the truth and the fake news.”
The EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS commended Nigeria’s vibrant culture and strategic role in Africa, describing the country as a “key partner” and assuring that the EU remains a reliable ally.
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