Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, received the Director General of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), Dr. Waleed Al-Bahar, in Abuja for a high-level bilateral meeting aimed at boosting development cooperation between both nations.
Welcoming the KFAED delegation, Ambassador Tuggar emphasized the strong diplomatic and historical ties between Nigeria and Kuwait, which date back to the 1960s. He applauded the Fund’s enduring role in fostering socio-economic progress across the Global South, particularly its support for development efforts in Nigeria.
Central to the discussions were collaborative opportunities aligned with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, especially in sectors such as infrastructure, youth empowerment, education, poverty alleviation, and economic diversification.
A spotlight was placed on education, with both parties lauding the success of the Reaching Out-of-School Children initiative in Kaduna State—jointly executed by KFAED and UNICEF. Ambassador Tuggar called for the expansion of such interventions nationwide to tackle the country’s out-of-school children crisis.
The Minister also advocated deeper cooperation in agriculture to enhance food security. He proposed joint efforts in irrigation, agro-processing, and the adoption of innovative technologies—areas where Kuwait’s experience and Nigeria’s vast potential could deliver shared benefits.
Additionally, Tuggar proposed new infrastructure projects in transportation, energy, and digital connectivity, while seeking sustained concessional financing and technical support from the Kuwait Fund.
To institutionalize bilateral relations, the Minister reaffirmed Nigeria’s readiness to host the inaugural session of the Nigeria-Kuwait Joint Commission for Cooperation later this year, aimed at accelerating concrete partnerships and implementation of mutually beneficial projects.
The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to transform diplomatic goodwill into measurable results that uplift the citizens of both countries.
