US Takes Steps To Strengthen Trade And Investment With Nigeria.

By Ferdinand Olise

The US Assistant Secretary of State, Joy Basu, who oversees the Economic, and Regional Affairs in the Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs, has visited Abuja, and Lagos State Nigeria, to discuss specific improvements to business enabling environment in Nigeria.

According to a Press Release by the US Embassy in Abuja, October 22, 2023, Ms Basu who advocated for U.S. businesses investment, highlighted opportunities available to deepen U.S.-Nigeria two-way trade.
She also met with the Minister of Health, Muhammad Ali Pate, government, and private sector leaders in Abuja for talks on trade and investment.

While emphasizing that the U.S. government is keen to facilitate U.S. investment into Nigeria, she said that additional reforms are needed to continue to create a transparent, trustworthy, and conducive investment climate.

Also in Lagos State, she brought together women from Small and Medium sized Enterprise (SMEs), Banks, and other, to accelerate efforts in bridging the financing gap for women-led SMEs.

She also connected to the U.S. tech startups to explore opportunities to create a more connected and inclusive innovation ecosystem in Nigeria.

“We are building upon the rich connections that exist between our countries – our companies, our entrepreneurs, and our people – to co-create solutions to our common challenges.

“We look forward to working together to discover, and deliver better ways forward, not only for the people of Nigeria and America, but also for communities around the world”, she said.