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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu recently to discuss trade and investment opportunities during a West Africa tour. Germany is keen to diversify its trade partners and expand economic partnerships in the energy-rich region
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu recently to discuss trade and investment opportunities during a West Africa tour. Germany is keen to diversify its trade partners and expand economic partnerships in the energy-rich region.
In his third trip to Africa since he took office in 2021, and his second this year, Scholz pushed for further development of Nigeria’s capacity to meet local needs even as Germany seeks improved trade relations with its second-largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa. Germany-Nigeria trade volume is estimated to be about 3 billion euros annually.
Major aspects of the two countries’ cooperation include working with Nigeria to help tackle regional and global issues such as migration, security, and rampant coups in West and Central Africa, Scholz told Tinubu during their meeting in the capital of Abuja. The German leader, who has come under enormous domestic pressure to address issues related to migration to Germany, suggested co-management (of the issue) which is benefiting the two countries the best.A framework is also being developed with the European Union to improve migration.
Scholz told Lagos-based Punch newspaper that Germany has a considerable demand for natural gas and concrete amounts of supplies should be agreed on in negotiations between Nigerian gas producers and German gas traders. Nigeria has Africa’s largest proven gas reserves — estimated to be 202 trillion cubic feet — and has been keen on working toward helping meet Europe’s needs after Russia sharply reduced natural gas flows following its war with Ukraine. Germany, though, has diversified its gas supplies from Russia since the war.
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Scholz also met with Omar Alieu Touray, the president of the ECOWAS Commission, West Africa’s regional bloc, and they discussed how to address the recent coups in parts of Africa. On Monday, he will open a German-Nigerian business forum in the economic hub of Lagos before heading to Ghana where he will end his trip on Tuesday.
