Victor Ezeja
AdminWithin the past three months, no fewer than six top functionaries of the United States government have visited Nigeria.
They include Deputy Assistant Secretary of State (DAS) Joy Basu who was in Abuja and Lagos between October 18-20. The CEO of US African Development Foundation (USADF) Travis Adkins visited Nigeria in October 15-20. Senior Coordinator for Atlantic Cooperation Ambassador Jessye Lapenn was also in Nigeria between October 2-4.
There was also the October 16-19 visit of U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Director Heather Lanigan who was in Nigeria to underscore Washington’s commitment to project-preparation activities that can build Nigeria’s digital, health, transport, and clean-energy infrastructure.
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Earlier in September, Deputy Secretary of Treasury Wally Adeyemo, the highest-ranking Nigerian-American official in the Biden-Harris Administration, visited Nigeria between the 17th and 19th of the month. Also in the same month, Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Dr. John Nkengasong, U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative Coordinator Dr. David Walton, and Global Fund Executive Director Peter Sands completed a joint visit to Nigeria September 11-13.
Prime Business Africa obtained these diplomatic shuttles and their reasons from a statement released on Sunday by the Consulate in Lagos which said the visits were to strengthen the United States-Nigeria trade and investment ties.
The statement was specific that Basu’s visit was to affirm positive economic reforms made by the Tinubu Administration, advocate for U.S. businesses seeking to invest in Nigeria and highlight opportunities to deepen U.S.-Nigeria two-way trade.
It added that the visit of Basu, who oversees Economic and Regional Affairs in the Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs, builds upon months of sustained and operationally focused high-level engagement surrounding the meeting of Biden and Tinubu at the G20 Summit in September.
In Lagos, Basu was said to have brought together women from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), banks, and venture capital firms to accelerate efforts to bridge the financing gap for women-led SMEs.
Adeyemo is the highest-ranking Nigerian-American official in the Biden-Harris Administration. He was in Nigeria between in September to expand business and investment ties with a focus on entrepreneurship, youth development, and women’s empowerment. During his visit, Adeyemo met with business leaders and the tech startup community in Lagos with a promise to ensure that barriers to investments between the two countries are removed.
Highlighting other visits by top officials this October, the Consulate said Lapenn was in Nigeria for her first global stop after the launch, to find opportunities in the marine and blue economy spaces, adding that “U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF) CEO Travis Adkins visited Nigeria October 15-20 to deepen trade and investment ties that can increase incomes, revenues, and jobs by promoting self-reliance and market-based solutions to poverty.”
The USADF is an independent U.S. government agency established by Congress to invest directly in African grassroots enterprises and social entrepreneurs.
Aside from the top U.S. government officials, the Consulate said 12 executives from leading U.S. pension fund and financial service providers managing over $1 trillion in assets had also travelled to Nigeria between October 9 and 13 as part of a USAID-sponsored investor roadshow in partnership with the U.S. government’s Prosper Africa and Power Africa initiatives.
The executives met with Nigerian companies and fund managers to explore investment opportunities in the country, particularly infrastructure, and to build relationships among U.S. and African investors and fund managers.
The Consulate added that Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Dr. John Nkengasong, U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative Coordinator Dr. David Walton, and Global Fund Executive Director Peter Sands completed a joint visit to Nigeria September 11-13 in a historic show of solidarity as the leaders of the largest donors to Nigeria’s HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria response efforts.
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