By Sarah Momoh
As part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ongoing state visit to Saint Lucia, Nigeria and the Caribbean island nation have taken significant steps toward strengthening diplomatic and developmental cooperation.
This was contained in a statement signed by Alkasim Abdulkadir Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy to the Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs
According to the statement, during a high-level bilateral meeting in Castries, the Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, H.E. Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, OON, held wide-ranging talks with his Saint Lucian counterpart, Honourable Alva Romanus Baptiste, Minister for External Affairs, International Trade, Civil Aviation, and Diaspora Affairs. The discussions focused on enhancing mutual cooperation across trade, education, technical support, and climate resilience.
Ambassador Tuggar conveyed warm greetings from the Government and people of Nigeria, and thanked Saint Lucia for the generous hospitality extended to President Tinubu’s delegation. He emphasized the deep cultural and historical connections between both nations, rooted in shared African heritage, the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade, and a common British colonial experience.
The Nigerian Minister welcomed the anticipated formalization of full diplomatic relations between both countries. He noted that Nigeria’s High Commission in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, currently provides interim diplomatic and consular coverage for Saint Lucia. Establishing direct diplomatic ties, he stressed, would offer a strategic platform for enhanced engagement within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
Ambassador Tuggar proposed a structured partnership between Nigeria’s Technical Aid Corps (NTAC) and Saint Lucia’s Political & Economic Cooperation Development Division. Key elements of this collaboration include:
Deployment of Nigerian experts in sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture, and technical services;
Exchange of best practices in governance, youth development, and institutional strengthening; and
Joint capacity-building initiatives to serve as templates for broader Africa–Caribbean collaboration.
The Minister further encouraged the pursuit of education diplomacy through scholarship opportunities, academic exchange programmes, and collaborative research aimed at fostering deeper people-to-people ties.
On economic relations, Ambassador Tuggar expressed Nigeria’s desire to boost trade and investment with Saint Lucia in high-potential sectors including tourism, renewable energy, ICT, agriculture, and manufacturing.
He also underscored the importance of joint action on climate change adaptation, disaster risk management, and improved access to climate finance. He affirmed Nigeria’s readiness to support Saint Lucia’s efforts as a Small Island Developing State (SIDS), and to advocate for SIDS’ concerns on international platforms such as the United Nations, the Commonwealth, and AU–CARICOM dialogues.
Also in attendance at the meeting were Nigeria’s Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Barr. Hannatu Musawa, and the Director General of the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (NTAC), Rt. Hon. Dr. Yusuf Buba Yakub.
In his closing remarks, Ambassador Tuggar expressed optimism that the evolving partnership between Nigeria and Saint Lucia would yield lasting benefits and foster stronger regional solidarity. He thanked Minister Baptiste for his dedication to building a robust and mutually beneficial relationship between the two nations.
