Nigeria will host the 6th Nigeria-United States Bi-National Commission (BNC) in Abuja from Monday, April 29 to Tuesday, April 30, 2024, as announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The forum will converge top government officials from both countries including, diplomats, policymakers, private sector stakeholders, and civil society organisations to address mutual challenges and pursue common goals.
According to the statement by the Ministry, the Nigeria-US BNC will operate along 5 working groups including shared prosperity, which focuses on economic development and trade relations; security cooperation; democracy, governance and accountability; movement of people; and partnership, involving global issues, multilateral reforms and health.
The 6th Session of the BNC will be held alternately in the capital cities of Abuja and Washington D.C., and will be co-chaired by Yusuf Tuggar, the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Nigeria, and Kurt Campbell, the US Deputy Secretary of State.
The Nigeria-US BNC began in 2010 to create high-level discussions on issues of mutual interests between the two countries to promote cooperation on shared priorities.
The US Diplomatic Mission in Nigeria calls this year’s event a “collaborative forum” affirming the United States’ commitment to partner with Nigeria towards shared goals through the BNC.
On its website, the embassy wrote, “U.S.-Nigeria Binational Commission remains a premiere platform of engagement for our governments to expand cooperation and advance shared goals,
particularly in the areas of trade and investment, development, good governance, and security cooperation.
Innovation and Ingenuity
The most recent BNC took place on February 3, 2020, in Washington, D.C., and was anchored by Michael Pompeo, former US Secretary of State and co-chaired by Geoffrey Onyeama, former Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs in Nigeria.
Themed “Innovation and Ingenuity,” the BNC focused on 8 areas of mutual interest between the US and Nigeria including good governance, anti-corruption efforts, trade, investment, development, food security, security, and counter-terrorism efforts.
During the meeting, former Secretary Pompeo announced a signed agreement by the United States with Nigeria to return more than $308 million in assets stolen by “a former dictator” to the West African state.
The secretary also announced a $40 million donation by the US as humanitarian assistance to Nigeria, an addition to the nearly $350 million provided in the previous year.
