U.S. Secretary of State Tillerson meets Buhari, speaks on #DapchiGirls

Nigeria and the United States of America are set to establish a Commercial and Investment Dialogue as well as a Trade and Investment Framework Council between the two countries as a way of deepening trade and investment opportunities.

This was disclosed by the United States Secretary of Trade Rex Tillerson after meeting with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa.

A first visit by a high government official in the Trump administration to Nigeria, and it is aimed at deepening trade and Security ties between Nigeria and the United States of America.

The visiting US Secretary of State acknowledged Nigeria as the largest economy in Africa and the second largest trade partner of the US on the African continent and conveys the interest of his country in deepening trade and commercial ties.

He commended Nigeria for the leadership role it has played in the Multinational Joint Task Force as the Lake Chad Basin Countries fight to lessen the influence and terrorist acts of Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa, in their domains.

Citing the recent abduction of the Dapchi girls as a case in point, the US Secretary assured of the United States’ full support in the fight against terrorism.

Nigeria on its part through its Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama thanked the United States for the technical support given towards tackling terrorism in its borders.

The Foreign Affairs Minister clarified that the statement attributed to the Nigerian government on degrading Boko Haram, had referred to the insurgent’s military capabilities admitting that Nigeria is still coming to terms with how to contain the asymmetric warfare Boko Haram is presently engaged in.

The US Secretary of State had visited Chad before coming to Nigeria where he had announced a 533 million dollar aid package for Africa out of which 128 million dollars was meant for Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin Commission countries.