By Ameh Gabriel
Abuja, August 4, 2025 – In a bid to deepen development cooperation between Nigeria and Kuwait, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, on Monday hosted the Director General of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), H.E. Dr. Waleed Al-Bahar, in Abuja for a high-level bilateral meeting.
Welcoming the delegation, Ambassador Tuggar hailed the longstanding and cordial relations between Nigeria and Kuwait, which date back to the 1960s. He commended KFAED’s pivotal role in supporting economic and social development efforts across the Global South, including Nigeria.
The bilateral talks focused on aligning strategic partnerships with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, with key emphasis on infrastructure renewal, education, poverty reduction, youth empowerment, and economic diversification.
Both parties spotlighted the success of the Reaching Out-of-School Children initiative in Kaduna State an impactful project supported by KFAED in collaboration with UNICEF as a model for nationwide expansion to address Nigeria’s education challenges.
On food security, Ambassador Tuggar proposed stronger cooperation in agricultural modernization, with emphasis on irrigation, agro-processing, and technology transfer. He noted Kuwait’s import-dependent food system as a shared incentive to invest in innovative solutions for mutual benefit.
The Minister also put forward proposals for new infrastructure projects, particularly in transport, energy, and digital connectivity, while urging continued concessional financing and technical support from the Kuwait Fund.
He reaffirmed Nigeria’s readiness to host the inaugural Nigeria-Kuwait Joint Commission for Cooperation later this year, which aims to institutionalize dialogue and accelerate joint development initiatives.
The meeting ended on a promising note, with both sides pledging to convert their shared vision into concrete outcomes that will drive growth and deliver lasting impact for the citizens of both nations.
Statement by Alkasim Abdulkadir, Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
