Nigeria ready to operationalise cooperation agreements with Turkey - Odumegwu-Ojukwu
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, on Thursday expressed Nigeria’s desire to operationalise its agreements and Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) with the Republic of Turkey. The minister,
- From: Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, on Thursday expressed Nigeria’s desire to operationalise its agreements and Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) with the Republic of Turkey.
The minister, according to a statement by her media aide, Dr. Magnus Eze made the disclosure when the Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mehmet Poroy paid her a courtesy visit in her office.
Nigeria and Turkey signed numerous bilateral agreements during President Bola Tinubu's office visit in January this year.
The visit aimed at further strengthening bilateral ties.
They include-Agreement on Cooperation in the field of education, MOU on Cooperation between the Foreign Service Academy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Diplomacy Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye and Joint Declaration on the Establishment of a Joint Economic and Trade Committee, as well as protocol on Military Cooperation.
Others are Cooperation in the field of Halal Quality Infrastructure, Media and Communications and Memorandum of Understanding on enhancing the effectiveness of Social Services provided to Women, Children, Persons with Disabilities, and Older Persons.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu told the envoy that President Tinubu had harped on maximizing the outcomes of the recent visit by directing Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to submit roadmaps for the operationalisation of the MoUs signed in Ankara.
She said that the president also charged that the political consultations between the two countries coming up in Abuja sometime this year yielded good results.
The minister further explained that MoUs are mere paper pointing out that what is important is the ability of the parties to implement the letters to benefit their people.
“Bilateral relations between Nigeria and Türkiye have blossomed over the years in all ramifications; and political relations between both countries remain cordial. Nigeria and Türkiye hold identical views on strategies to address topical global issues, including the war against terrorism, climate change, and human migration, promotion of international peace and security, as well as calls for reform of the global governance system for greater inclusiveness to accommodate all interests across the various regions of the world,” the minister said.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu said that economic relations between Nigeria and Türkiye were progressing steadily, with trade volume capped at close to 2 billion USD if the informal sector was captured in the official statistics.
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According to her, the January 2026 trade forum in Ankara served as a practical engine for the "Renewed Hope Agenda,” transitioning diplomatic goals into a concrete roadmap for reaching a $5 billion bilateral trade target.
Central to the event was the activation of the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO), which was designed to move beyond traditional diplomacy by providing a standing mechanism for the private sector to resolve trade barriers and capitalize on Nigeria’s recent economic reforms.
The forum specifically prioritized the modernization of Nigeria’s energy and agricultural sectors through Turkish technical expertise, particularly leveraging new Halal quality standards to open European and Middle Eastern markets to Nigerian exports.
Speaking, the Turkish Ambassador highlighted the country’s defence cooperation with Nigeria noting the imperative of holding counterterrorism consultation between them in Abuja.
Amb. Poroy was upbeat that the Joint Economic and Trade Council would bolster economic relations between both countries, hence, his urge that they leveraged on it to achieve the $5billion volume of trade target.
