STATE DEPARTMENT —
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday the United States is committed to growing its partnerships across the African continent and increasingly sees African countries “leading on issues of global consequence.”
“The United States is determined to be and remain a strong security partner for Nigeria,” Blinken said in Abuja during a joint press conference with Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar.
Before heading to Lagos late Tuesday, Blinken held talks with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and Tuggar in which they discussed regional security after several military coups in West Africa
“We very much appreciate Nigeria’s leadership in ECOWAS to try to move to a return to the constitutional order and democracy in Niger after it’s been disrupted,” Blinken said, referring to the Economic Community of West African States.
Nigeria is the largest country by population and economy in sub-Saharan Africa, and the dominant political, economic and military power in this regional bloc.
The United States is the largest foreign investor in Nigeria and maintains a significant security partnership with Nigeria in its counterterrorism operations against Islamist insurgents in West Africa.
Nigeria borders Niger, where the military ousted its elected leader, Mohamed Bazoum, in 2023, and subsequently scrapped defense agreements with France, its traditional security partner.
Last week, junta-appointed Niger Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine visited Moscow, and the two governments agreed to enhance their defense partnership.
source: voa