Nigeria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have established a partnership to extract iron ore and process steel in Nigeria.
The partnership was initiated during a meeting between Dele Alake, minister of solid minerals development, and Khalid Al-Musdaifer, Saudi Arabia’s deputy minister of minerals and energy.
In a statement on Monday by Kehinde Bamigbetan, special adviser to the minister, the collaboration aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda, which seeks to harness Nigeria’s vast mineral resources to drive industrialisation.
“The partnership aims to leverage Nigeria’s indigenous mineral resources to drive industrialisation, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda,” the statement reads.
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Alake stressed the economic benefits of processing iron ore into steel locally rather than exporting raw materials, noting that finished steel products command significantly higher value in the global market.
He said Saudi Arabia, known for its advanced steel industry, had expressed interest in obtaining iron ore from Nigeria.
The statement added that a follow-up meeting is planned for January 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during the future metals forum.
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