The prospects for cooperation between Bulgaria and Nigeria in the fields of economy, energy, information technology, education and security were the focus of the talks between President Rumen Radev and the visiting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Geoffrey Onyeama.
Expanding the areas of economic cooperation and increasing trade between Bulgaria and Nigeria is of mutual interest, was the common position during the meeting. Bilateral trade is currently focused mainly on agriculture, and this does not reflect the potential of the two economies. In recent years, exports from Bulgaria to Nigeria have increased by nearly 40% and from Nigeria to Bulgaria by about 10%.
High technology was identified as an area of great potential in the bilateral partnership. The emergence of Nigeria as a financial centre in Africa, as well as the establishment of Bulgarian fintech companies are a good basis for mutually beneficial cooperation, Radev stressed. The Bulgarian Head of State also noted that high technology had increasingly been the basis for improving the management processes and monitoring the implemented policies in ecology, agriculture, security and defence, which gave a new perspective for expanding the bilateral partnership.
The President highlighted the opportunity for mutually beneficial cooperation to overcome the consequences of the war in Ukraine, notably, the suspension of energy supplies from Russia to this country. The Head of State praised Nigeria's preparedness to assist Bulgaria in achieving diversification of natural gas and oil supplies.
Ensuring the possibility of continuing the education of Nigerian students, who had been evacuated from Ukraine, in higher education institutions in Bulgaria was also among the talking points at the meeting. In the first semester of the 2021/2022 academic year, a total of 134 Nigerian nationals are studying in 19 Bulgarian universities. Several universities have already declared their readiness to admit Nigerian students from Ukraine. The prospect of Nigerian servicemen receiving their professional training in this country was also discussed during the meeting.