Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, Yusuf Tuggar (L), in a warm handshake with Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov(R)
Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, on a working visit to Russia, has met with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Moscow on Wednesday where they discussed future relations between the two countries.
The ministers are meeting to discuss a wide range of current issues in bilateral relations, as well as possible ways to increase interaction between the two nations, including intensifying political dialogue and expanding trade, economic and humanitarian ties.
Some key topics up for discussions include Energy as one of the promising areas of cooperation between Russia and Nigeria. The two diplomats will also deliberate on the interests of the two countries in working to update their agreement on military-technical cooperation, a report said.
During discussions, the Russian foreign minister iterated that Moscow sees Nigeria as a priority partner on the African continent.
In his response, Tuggar said “the relationship will continue to grow. We feel that we are in a right position to have a very strong strategic relationship with Russia.”
Lavrov also said Moscow would continue to provide assistance to the countries in the Sahara-Sahel region, which have been plagued by insurgencies for years, in order to increase their combat capability.
In the last decade, jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State have been growing in power and influence in the region, also expanding their reach to Nigeria where they have caused many deaths.
“Russia will provide assistance to countries of the region in increasing the combat capability of their national armed forces, security forces, and law enforcement authorities, in order to counter the threats that persist,” Lavrov said.
Russia’s diplomatic inroads into the Sahel has been a source of concern for western powers who have significantly lost their influence in the region. Further efforts by Russia to expand its diplomatic reach in West Africa has been under scrutiny and has stirred debates about the impact on the region’s political space.
A major source of concern that the Nigerian foreign minister spoke about is the surge in weapons proliferation in the region as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war. Responding to questions from the Russian news platform, Sputnik Africa, Tuggar spoke about Nigeria’s deep concerns regarding the surge of weapons in the Sahel region.
“Invariably, when there’s a surge in the supply of weapons, they tend to find their way to our region. This is why we’ve always been concerned about the proliferation of small arms and light weapons,” the minister said.
Lavrov also spoke about the upcoming Forum of Foreign Ministers in Sochi, a city on the Black Sea Coast in southern Russia, to which Russia would soon start sending invitations to African countries.
