*To invest $600m in private investments in Africa
The U.S. says it is set to invest $600 million in private investments and infrastructure in Africa as partnership towards deepening global alliance.
David Greene, Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.
The envoy spoke while fielding questions in view of the growing moves by countries to form global alliance towards introduction of new economic trade separate from the western systems.
According to him, every country has right to choose who it has relations with and what other organisations, multilateral groups it associates with, saying each state has sovereign rights to do that.
“We believe that any multilateral gathering should be advancing the clearly articulated principle of the UN chatter with regard to territorial integrity and respect for sovereignty.
“Any multilateral group should take seriously the obligation to try and advance the principles and articulated universal declaration of human rights to improve the functioning of individual state or lead to greater success of any country, any multilateral group, in terms of meeting the aspirations of its people.
“So, the U.S. truly believes in multilateralism and whether Nigeria does not join the BRICS, that is a decision for Nigeria.”
He said the U.S. President, Joe Biden, had at several public functions reiterated his administration’s resolve to deepen its alliance with Africa.
He explained that the U.S. would do more to advance U.S.-Africa ties, U.S.-Nigeria ties and global ties.
Greene further described global alliance as “the ability of countries that want to partner to advance their development and success in line with their aspirations.
“We believe that it is true that alliances and coalitions are international relations that can really help move the world forward in a better direction with regards to our engagement in Africa.
“The BRICS are not a factor in that regard, we have established a strong strategic people-to-people ties across the continent.
“We have strongly been good since then and our commitment to deepen economic engagement are in particular, to advance and promote African voices on a global stage.
“We rallied the G-20 to include the African Union, the most recent G-20 meeting in India; we are working with partners to unlock the $200 billion in World Bank and IMF resources to address the kind of challenges that we all face.
“We are working to unlock the $600 million, hopefully in private investments and infrastructure in the next couple of years, as part of our global partnership for infrastructure global investment.,” he said.
TO TACKLE VISA-RELATED HITCHES
Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S, Embassy in Nigeria Mr David Greene has assured visa applicants of the mission’s commitment to tackling all visa-related hitches.
Greene gave the assurance during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
According to him, issues related to visas would fully become a thing of the past, saying the mission is doing everything within its power to tackle such challenges.
“When it comes to visas specifically, well of course it is a simple fact, the demand for visa appointments outnumbers the supply.
“So, those appointments are available and we are doing everything we can to address that gap. What folks do not know is that this year we have interviewed more than 150,000 Nigerians.
“This is in addition to 30,000 students. Hundreds of thousands of students have had the opportunity to seek visas from the U.S.
“We are doing the best we can to get proper ways for all the categories and after having an enormous backlog as a result of COVID-19, and all that.
“We have made great progress though. In March we instituted a five-year term for visas to the U.S.,” he added.
He urged persons desiring to travel to the U.S. to apply early and ensure that the visa requests are tied to events.
“Folks that are seeking visas should apply early, make sure that the plan is for an event as they can.
“This is because we do acknowledge that there is a backlog and we will do what we can to make sure people that need a warrant visa to the U.S., can get them,” he said.
APPLAUDS NIGERIA’S EFFORTS
The United States has applauded Nigeria for the efforts it is making to bolster its economy towards ensuring sustainable growth and development.
Mr David Greene, Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S., Embassy in Abuja, acknowledged the Federla Government’s efforts in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He said although the Federal Government is putting measures in place to stabilise the nation’s economy, more should be done to create an environment that would attract investors to the country.
He observed there has been great enthusiasm from American investors toward Nigeria, saying that such interest was a testimony to the commitment that the President Bola Tinubu administration has made toward strengthening the economy.
“We support the fact that the Tinubu administration is trying to create the fundamentals that will allow foreign direct investment, attract investors, and drive economic growth.
“We are also doing our part as the U.S. government to observe and understand the challenges, see how we could help, and presumably, talk up Nigeria a little bit in the global market and international markets.
“When Tinubu was in New York at the UN General Assembly, where he rang the closing bell at the world’s second-largest stock exchange, the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation System (NASDAQ).
“His visit attracted officials of the Commerce of Cooperation of the U.S. Trade and Investment.
“They demonstrated a high level of interest in Nigeria. Sponsored by Prosper Africa Programme, a major institution of investors in the U.S., set to manage billions of dollars of Pension Funds.
“They were there because everybody knows Nigeria is a place of great potential. So I think that potential is visible; I think people are excited. There is a high level of interest.”
He assured Nigeria of the U.S. government’s commitment to doing all it could to draw investors to the country to see the opportunities available and possibly, rely on partner businesses.
He emphasised the need for the Federal Government to create an environment conducive for businesses to thrive, saying that as the largest economy in Africa with 60 per cent of its population under the age of 25, such an environment could contribute dramatically to transforming its economy.
The envoy also gave an assurance of the U.S.’ commitment to deepening ties with Nigeria to help the country realise its economic diversification goals.
“One of the things to note is that the President Bola Tinubu administration must create an enabling environment to address the challenges that are facing Nigeria.
“This is crucial so that business operators and investors will feel more able to take advantage of the opportunities that Nigeria presents.
“When you are talking about creating opportunities and helping in supporting Nigeria, last fiscal year the U.S. provided 1.2 billion dollars to assist Nigeria across all areas.
“This includes humanitarian assistance, an enormous health programme, work to strengthen the availability of power and electricity to Nigerian citizens, transition to green energy, and up to climate issues, and improving the education system.
“The U.S. government is investing a lot in Nigeria because of the importance of these issues and to help Nigeria over the challenges,” he added.
According to him, although the U.S. does not directly invest in Nigeria, its private sector companies’ investments are not just driven by the opportunity they find, but by the enabling environment.
Greene said such companies are responsible for the in-flow of cargo investment that has positioned Nigeria as the recipient of 25 per cent of all venture capital into Africa in 2022.
He identified the companies as Microsoft, Cisco, Meta Starlink, and Google, among many others operating in Nigeria, saying they create jobs and sell products.
Also that they make investments and train unemployed, underemployed, women and youths to find good jobs in that sector.
“U.S. has long been one of Nigeria’s leading partners. We are the largest foreign investor in Nigeria and this is about investment in every sector of the economy.
`This is a reflection of the vast potential that Nigeria has shown economically, in terms of providing opportunities for trade, investment for profit, and job creation to improve people’s lives,” he added.
