The Federal Government of Nigeria and the Kingdom of Thailand have deepened bilateral cooperation with the signing of new agreements focused on agriculture, cooperatives and innovation, in a move to drive implementation of the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme, RH-CRRP 2030.
The agreements were signed in Lagos, during a high-level engagement on the theme: Building Sustainable Partnerships: Connecting Youth, Innovation and Business between Thailand and Nigeria.
Speaking during the event, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Senator. Dr. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, said the signing marked the transition of RH-CRRP 2030 from policy formulation to practical implementation.
The agreements included a Record of Discussions involving the Thailand International Cooperation Agency, TICA, Kasetsart University and the Federal Cooperative College, Oji-River, Enugu, as well as a Memorandum of Understanding between Kasetsart University and the Federal Cooperative College, Oji-River.
“Today, we have not merely witnessed the signing of documents; we have witnessed the strengthening of a partnership founded on knowledge, capacity development, innovation, institutional cooperation and shared prosperity,” the Minister said.
Senator. Abdullahi added that the partnership directly supports *Pillar 2 of RH-CRRP 2030 institutional Strengthening, Professionalization and Capacity Building.
“At the heart of this pillar is a simple but fundamental principle: we cannot build strong and sustainable cooperatives without strong institutions and well-trained people,” he said.
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The minister noted that the reform places emphasis on developing the knowledge, professional competence and leadership capacity of cooperative leaders, managers, regulators and members.
He referenced an earlier milestone on August 12, in Abuja, where the ministry, the Cooperative Federation of Nigeria, CFN, and Seamfix Limited, signed an MoU on the Cooperative Digitalisation pillar of the reform.
“This demonstrates that RH-CRRP 2030 is moving beyond policy formulation towards implementation, institutional action and measurable impact,” Abdullahi said.
Linking the partnership to the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, the Minister affirmed that the administration is determined to reposition cooperatives as stronger instruments for agricultural transformation, enterprise development, job and wealth creation, financial inclusion and sustainable livelihoods.
“As we work towards Mr. President’s aspiration of building a one-trillion-dollar Nigerian economy within this decade, strengthening the capacity, professionalism and productivity of our cooperative institutions and the millions of Nigerians they serve will be critical,” he stated.
Abdullahi added that Thailand’s experience in agriculture, cooperative development, research and innovation presents important opportunities for mutual learning, while Nigeria brings enormous agricultural potential, a vibrant youthful population and significant opportunities for investment.
He charged all institutions involved to move “deliberately from agreement to implementation” with practical programmes, clear timelines and measurable deliverables.
“May today’s signing mark not the conclusion of a process, but the beginning of a stronger and more productive chapter in Nigeria–Thailand cooperation,” the Minister added.
In attendance were the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand; Nigeria’s Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca OdumegwuOjukwu, the Ambassador of Thailand to Nigeria; the Ambassador of Nigeria to the Kingdom of Thailand; the Director-General of TICA; the Executive Secretary of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, ARCN; the President of Kasetsart University; and the Provost of the Federal Cooperative College, Oji-River.
RH-CRRP 2030 is a seven-pillar reform framework designed to reposition the Nigerian cooperative sector as an instrument for inclusive economic growth and distributed prosperity.
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