David Greene, the Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, commended Nigeria for its efforts to strengthen its economy and achieve sustainable growth and development.
He acknowledged the measures that the Federal Government has put in place to stabilize the economy but also emphasized the need for more to be done to create an environment that would attract investors to the country.
Greene expressed his enthusiasm for American investors’ interest in Nigeria, which he believes is a testament to the current administration’s commitment to strengthening the economy.
He praised the Tinubu administration for creating the fundamentals that will allow foreign direct investment, attract investors, and drive economic growth.
He also noted that the US government is doing its part to understand the challenges and find ways to help Nigeria in the global and international markets.
During Tinubu’s visit to New York at the UN General Assembly, he rang the closing bell at the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation System (NASDAQ), the world’s second-largest stock exchange.
This visit attracted officials of the Commerce of Cooperation of the U.S. Trade and Investment, who demonstrated a high level of interest in Nigeria.
Moreover, the US government is committed to doing all it can to draw investors to Nigeria and encourage partner businesses.
The envoy highlighted the need for the Federal Government to create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive, as the country has the potential to transform its economy dramatically, being the largest economy in Africa with 60% of its population under the age of 25.
Greene gave an assurance of the U.S.’ commitment to deepening ties with Nigeria to help the country realize its economic diversification goals.
He also emphasized that the current administration must create an environment conducive to addressing the challenges facing Nigeria so that business operators and investors feel more able to take advantage of the opportunities that Nigeria presents.
In the last fiscal year, the U.S. provided $1.2 billion to assist Nigeria in all areas, including humanitarian assistance, an enormous health program, work to strengthen the availability of power and electricity to Nigerian citizens, transition to green energy, up to climate issues, and improving the education system.
Although the U.S. does not directly invest in Nigeria, its private sector companies’ investments are driven by the enabling environment, which has positioned Nigeria as the recipient of 25% of all venture capital into Africa in 2022.
Greene identified companies such as Microsoft, Cisco, Meta Starlink, and Google, among many others operating in Nigeria, which create jobs, sell products, make investments, and train unemployed, underemployed, women, and youths to find good jobs in that sector.
He further emphasized that the U.S. has long been one of Nigeria’s leading partners, being the largest foreign investor in Nigeria across all sectors of the economy.
This is a reflection of the vast potential that Nigeria has shown economically, providing opportunities for trade, investment, profit, and job creation to improve people’s lives.
