The Honourable Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu received Ambassador of France to Nigeria, H.E Marc Fonbaustier, during a courtesy call with his Deputy Head of Mission .
A very seasoned and multi lingual diplomat with extensive experience and many years of service in African missions, we discussed extensively on Nigeria’s long standing and very warm bilateral relations with France.
Their discussions spanned across the various fields of France’s engagement with Nigeria; Economic, Security, Agricultural, Trade, Extractive, Educational, Cultural, etc.
There are over 100 French companies doing business in Nigeria with several Nigerian banks such as Access Bank, UBA and others opening branches in Paris.
President of Nigeria, H.E Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in demonstration of his vibrant foreign policy agenda, conducted a highly successful state visit to France where he was very warmly welcomed by President Macron of France .The two leaders share a special bond. The visit culminated in the signing of agreements across several developmental sectors.
France , through its agency for development, has signed a 100 million Euro investment agreement with Nigeria for the I-DICE program in support of the digital and creative private sector in Nigeria.
As part of its linguistic and educational cooperation, the Embassy of France in Nigeria in addition to it’s long standing initiatives with the Alliance Française Learning Centers, has launched a call for applications to support the creation of Digital Resource Centers in Nigerian universities.
This project aims to enhance French language learning, develop students’ transversal skills, and strengthen their employability.
In support of the Nigerian Arts and Culture, France will be launching the Musical production “FELA” by the Philarmone de Paris as well as ‘Le Forum Creative d’ Africa’ in Lagos this October.