Nigeria and Thailand have agreed to strengthen bilateral relations in technology, agriculture, commerce, renewable energy and other areas of strategic interest.
The two countries are also considering a review of their existing partnerships, with Nigeria seeking to leverage Thailand’s comparative advantage in intermediate technology, particularly in agriculture and related sectors.
The development emerged from a meeting between Vice President Kashim Shettima and a delegation from the Kingdom of Thailand led by its Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister, Yousef Hassan Khalawi, at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday.
Speaking on behalf of President Bola Tinubu, Shettima said Nigeria’s relationship with Thailand should extend beyond traditional areas of engagement, including crude oil and rice production.
“I believe that our relationship should go beyond transactions in crude oil, rice production and so on. So, there is a need for us to review our bilateral relationship at a strategic level,” he said.
The Vice President identified agriculture, information and communications technology, renewable energy and solid minerals as areas with significant opportunities for investment and partnership.
“Nigeria is a large market. There are enormous opportunities for partnership and investment in agriculture, ICT, renewable energy, and solid minerals, and we have a young population and workforce,” Shettima noted.
He encouraged the Thai government and businesses to expand their investments in Nigeria, citing the country’s strategic position in Africa, large market, youthful population and abundant natural resources.
On his first visit to Africa, Khalawi described Nigeria as a strategic partner for Thailand and praised what he called the ongoing transformation under the Tinubu administration.
He also described Nigeria as a strong voice in the Global South and an emerging leader in e-commerce.
Khalawi disclosed that Thailand was proposing a new partnership with African countries, known as the Thailand-Africa Initiative, to deepen economic cooperation, business relations and people-to-people ties.
According to him, agriculture would be a major focus of the initiative, alongside areas where Thailand has expertise, including universal health coverage and tourism.
“For us in Thailand, we believe that Nigeria is a strategic partner bilaterally and an important window to strengthening ties with Africa, particularly West Africa,” he said.
The meeting was attended by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dunoma Umar Ahmed; Thailand’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Thirapath Mongkolnavin; and other senior officials from the foreign ministries of both countries.
