Chidimma Uchegbu -Abuja
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, on Monday, 4th August 2025, received 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 focused on deepening development cooperation between Nigeria and Kuwait.
This was contained in a statement signed by Alkasim Abdulkadir, Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy, to the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Ambassador Tuggar welcomed the delegation and underscored the historic and cordial relations between both countries, which have flourished since the 1960s. He commended KFAED for its instrumental role in advancing economic and social development across the Global South, including Nigeria.
Discussions during the meeting centred on expanding cooperation in priority sectors aligned with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. The Minister highlighted Nigeria’s development priorities, including infrastructure renewal, human capital development, poverty reduction, youth empowerment, and economic diversification.
Particular emphasis was placed on education, with both sides reflecting on the success of the Reaching Out-of-School Children initiative in Kaduna State—an impactful project supported by KFAED in partnership with UNICEF.
Amb. Tuggar stressed the urgency of scaling similar interventions nationwide to address Nigeria’s education gap.
On food security, the Minister proposed enhanced collaboration in agricultural modernization, including irrigation, agro-processing, and technology transfer—areas where Kuwait’s import reliance offers a shared incentive for innovation and cooperation.
Ambassador Tuggar also proposed new infrastructure projects in transportation, power, and digital connectivity and called for continued concessional financing and technical assistance from the Kuwait Fund.
The Minister reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to hosting the inaugural session of the Nigeria-Kuwait Joint Commission for Cooperation later this year to institutionalize dialogue and fast-track mutually beneficial projects.
The meeting concluded on a note of optimism, with both parties pledging to translate goodwill into tangible outcomes that will strengthen the strategic partnership and deliver real benefits to the people of Nigeria and Kuwait.
