from EMEKA OKONKWO in Abuja, Nigeria
Nigeria Bureau
ABUJA, (CAJ News) – NIGERIA and the United States are discussing opportunities to expand cooperation on improving energy security and access, decarbonization of the oil and gas sector as well as accelerating energy transition in the West African country.
This is under the aegis of the inaugural US-Nigeria Strategic Energy Dialogue, ongoing in Washington until Thursday.
Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR) Assistant Secretary, Geoffrey Pyatt, led the meeting, as he hosted a senior delegation from the Nigerian government led by the Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Ekperikpe Ekpo.
In addition to Pyatt, the American delegation includes senior officials from the Bureau of African Affairs, Office of the Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy, USAID’s Power Africa, Department of Energy, Development Finance Corporation (DFC), US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and the Export-Import Bank (EXIM).
The dialogue is to also include a public-private discussion hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce to deepen private sector partnerships and investments between the US and Nigeria.
According to the US Department of State, this dialogue aims to foster enhanced collaboration between the US and Nigerian private sectors, creating new opportunities for American and Nigerian businesses and contributing to the growth and sustainability of the energy sectors in both countries, with the goal of delivering shared prosperity to the Nigerian and American people.
The dialogue is a key outcome of a series of bilateral engagements, including Secretary of State Antony’s Blinken’s trip to Nigeria in January 2024, Deputy Secretary Kurt Campbell’s meeting with Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar during the sixth US Nigeria Binational Commission in April, and Assistant Secretary Pyatt’s meeting with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2023, where this dialogue was
agreed.
– CAJ News