Adeyemo, US deputy treasury secretary, ‘to strengthen bilateral ties’ during Nigeria visit

September 14, 2023 10:57 am

Wally Adeyemo, the US deputy treasury secretary

FILE PHOTO: Economist Adewale "Wally" Adeyemo listens to questions during his Senate Finance Committee nomination hearing to be Deputy Secretary of the Treasury in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 23, 2021. Greg Nash/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Adewale “Wally” Adeyemo, the United States deputy treasury secretary, will visit Nigeria next week as part of efforts to strengthen economic ties between both countries.

According to the New York Times, Adeyemo will meet with Nigerian government officials and representatives from the technology, entertainment, and finance sectors during his visit.

The President Joe Biden-led administration has repeatedly expressed interest in strengthening bilateral relations between Nigeria and the US.

President Bola Tinubu has also assured foreign investors of Nigeria’s readiness to offer valuable returns on investments.

After securing a promised $14billion worth of investments from the G20 summit, Tinubu asked potential investors to put their fears aside, assuring that he leads a team that can drive the goal of broad prosperity.

Adeyemo told The New York Times that his message in Nigeria would be that “the United States wants to be your partner, not only to provide development assistance, but to think about how we deepen our investment and trade relationship”.

“It’s one of those opportunities to go to a place that means a lot to me personally, but also to go to a place that means a lot to me professionally, just given that Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy with a huge demographic boom,” he added.

“It’s just a great chance for me to talk about how we can deepen the economic relationship and the strategic relationship at a moment when Nigeria has a government that’s already taken really important steps in terms of economic reform.”

Adeyemo said he also plans to raise issues of tackling corruption and protecting the financial system during his trip.

New methods of diversifying the economy, shifting reliance from petroleum and embracing renewable energy, would also be discussed.

The trip would be the US official’s first visit to his home country since becoming the highest-ranking member of the African diaspora in the Biden administration.

Under former President Barack Obama, Adeyemo served as the deputy national security adviser (NSA) for international economics.