Princess-Ekwi Ajide

Nigeria and Germany have renewed their strategic partnership with a focus on energy, trade, and structured migration, following high-level bilateral talks in Berlin between Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, and his German counterpart, Minister Johann Wadephul.

Germany reaffirmed Nigeria’s status as a key strategic ally in sub-Saharan Africa, currently its second-largest trading partner in the region.

Both sides reviewed progress on longstanding partnerships, notably the German-Nigerian Energy Partnership established in 2008 and expanded in 2021 with the opening of a hydrogen office in Abuja.

Ambassador Tuggar stressed Nigeria’s commitment to exporting talent, not people, and called for deeper cooperation with Germany to create job opportunities and address irregular migration at its roots.

Minister Wadephul, said that Germany is a key partner in Africa, noting opportunities for collaboration in renewable energy, vocational training, and critical raw materials vital for industrial and green transitions.

In further meetings, Tuggar engaged with Germany’s Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Svenja Willem-Alabali Radovan, to strengthen economic ties and formalise legal migration pathways.

He also met with Nicolas Zippelius of the German Parliament to explore policy-level collaboration, and received an invitation from Professor Lanz Rolla to the 2025 Berlin Global Dialogue, recognising Nigeria’s growing global influence.