This decision was made during a meeting between the Nigerian delegation, led by Dr. Dele Alake, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, and the U.S. delegation, led by Amos Hochstein, Senior Advisor to the U.S. President on Energy and Infrastructure.
During the meeting, the United States delegation stated their commitment to assisting Nigeria in training its security agencies to safeguard its mining sites and also demonstrated interest in investing in Nigeria’s mineral extraction and processing.
According to a statement by the minister’s Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, Alake emphasized that the meeting aimed to bolster collaboration with the U.S and assist Nigeria in security and technical assistance
The head of the U.S. delegation, Hochstein expressed the U.S.’s interest in partnering with Nigeria to unlock investments in the mining sector, which would involve infrastructural development, technical assistance, and other investment opportunities to scale up mining operations.
Hochstein also disclosed the U.S.’s collaboration with the Federal Government to finance clean energy options.
On his part, Alake appreciated the U.S. as a longstanding ally of Nigeria, asserting that the newfound collaboration for mining development would strengthen bilateral relations, mutually benefiting both nations.
Alake was quoted as saying, “We are putting in place reforms to ensure that we have an enabling environment in the sector, different from the experiences we had in the past,”
Meanwhile, the Minister of Solid Mineral Development, Mr. Dele Alake has been has been appointed as the pioneer Chairman of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) by Ministers of mineral development from 15 African countries at an event in South Africa.