Nigeria and the United States have signed a landmark framework designed to attract investment into Nigeria’s estimated $700 billion mineral resources and strengthen bilateral cooperation in the critical minerals sector.

The agreement was signed and exchanged on Wednesday at Nigeria’s Mission House in New York, United States, by Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Christopher Landau.

The development marks a major step in Nigeria’s efforts to attract United States investment into its mining industry. The framework is expected to support U.S.-backed investment and business-to-business partnerships across Nigeria’s mining value chain.

Alake described the agreement as a framework for American investment in Nigeria’s $700 billion mineral resources. He said the arrangement would build on the Nigeria-US government relationship to facilitate business-to-business transactions and strengthen a value-addition-driven value chain in the country’s mining sector.

Welcoming Landau and the United States delegation to the signing ceremony, Alake spoke positively about the agreement, describing it as a development that would shape the future.

In a separate development, Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged Nigerians living abroad, particularly those in the United States, to support the administration of President Bola Tinubu as it works to transform the economy and reposition Nigeria for sustained growth.

Shettima said the Federal Government was seeking to harness the expertise, capital, networks and intellectual capacity of Nigerians in the diaspora to accelerate national development, describing the diaspora community as “the greatest resource of the future.”

The Vice President made the call on Wednesday at Nigeria House in New York during an interactive session with members of the Nigerian community in the United States.

The meeting was organised and coordinated by the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa.

Shettima said the Tinubu administration was implementing reforms across key sectors, including education, healthcare, agriculture, science and technology, while working to create an environment conducive to investment and economic growth.

He also defended the economic reforms introduced by the administration, saying President Tinubu had demonstrated courage by making difficult decisions from the outset instead of focusing on the challenges inherited from the previous administration.

In her remarks, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, described Nigerians in the Diaspora as indispensable partners in Nigeria’s development and urged them to deploy their expertise, investments, networks and global experience towards advancing the country.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu said the Vice President’s participation in the engagement demonstrated the importance the Federal Government attached to Nigerians living abroad, including their welfare, concerns and contributions to national development.

She said the Diaspora remained an important pillar of Nigeria’s foreign policy and stressed that Nigerians abroad should be viewed as strategic partners, rather than solely as contributors to the country’s economy through remittances.

The Minister described the Town Hall meeting as an important part of the government’s continuing dialogue with Nigerians abroad, noting that effective Diaspora engagement must be built on trust, openness and sustained communication.

Source: the guardian.ng