The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has assured President Bola Tinubu of the readiness of U.S. technology experts to drive a technology revolution in Nigeria.
Blinken, who is currently on an African tour that would end on Jan. 26, arrived in Abuja late Tuesday.
“American entrepreneurs and companies are ready to partner and invest in Nigeria, particularly in the tech sector,” he said while briefing the press after he met with President Tinubu at the State House.
“We have tech giants that have teamed up with Nigerian partners to help meet President Bola Tinubu’s one million digital jobs initiative. So, we want to work in partnership to drive Nigeria’s tech revolution.”
But for the partnership to thrive, Blinken said the Nigerian authorities need to tackle some “long-term challenges” the Nigerian economy is facing.
“There remain some impediments that we hear from our business community that I think stand in the way of maximizing those opportunities,” he said.
“One is the repatriation of capital. I know that the central bank governor is working on that. Second is the ongoing effort to combat corruption because companies that come in and invest want to make sure that they’re going to be investing with a fair, level playing field, and corruption, of course, is a big impediment.”
According to Blinken, the partnership between the US and Nigeria would be of mutual benefit to both countries.
“We want to work in partnership to help drive Nigeria’s technological revolution, which is creating jobs. It’s growing businesses, and it’s growing innovations in both of our countries,” he said.
“Because one of the things we’ve learned from these partnerships is that it benefits us as much as any place or any country that we’re investing. We’re learning a lot from where we’re getting a lot.”
Tinubu, since taking office in May 2023, has repeatedly said he is committed to boosting Nigeria’s business environment to attract foreign investment.
- Senate Backs Death Penalty for Drug Traffickers - May 10, 2024
- House of Reps Hit Pause on CBN’s Cybersecurity Levy - May 10, 2024
- Gunmen Storm Kogi University, Abduct Students - May 10, 2024
