The United States has called for stronger trade and investment ties with Nigeria, stating that sustained cooperation between governments, businesses, and entrepreneurs is crucial to delivering tangible economic benefits for both countries.
Keith Heffern, Charge d’Affaires of the U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Nigeria, made the call in Abuja while addressing business leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs and government representatives at a Freedom 250 Reception, organised in partnership with the American Business Council.
Heffern said the level of interest and engagement around the U.S.-Nigeria economic relationship demonstrated the significant opportunities available to both countries, stressing that the relationship should continue to be built on mutual benefit rather than dependency.
He said American companies remained among the major investors in Nigeria, with investments spanning key sectors including energy, technology, agriculture and financial services.
According to him, Nigeria’s growing pool of talent, expanding markets and entrepreneurial ecosystem are also creating opportunities for American businesses, making the economic relationship increasingly reciprocal.
“This is very much a two-way relationship, one built on mutual benefit, not dependency,” he said.
Heffern noted that the partnership between both countries was not a recent development but the result of decades of engagement, persistence and trust-building, much of which, he said, had been driven by businesses and other stakeholders represented at the gathering.
He linked the occasion to the United States’ commemoration of its 250th anniversary of independence, saying the milestone provided an opportunity not only to reflect on the country’s history but also to consider the partnerships that would shape its future.
He said the principles of liberty and commerce had historically been closely connected in the United States, arguing that free people and open trade could contribute to stronger and more prosperous societies.
“This year, the United States marks Freedom 250 — 250 years since our founding, and 250 years of a story that has always extended well beyond our own borders,” he said.
Heffern said the anniversary should therefore serve as an opportunity for the United States and its partners to recommit to building stronger economic relationships, particularly with countries such as Nigeria.
He identified the private sector as a critical driver of the bilateral relationship, saying diplomacy alone could not deliver the full benefits of economic cooperation.
According to him, while diplomatic engagement can create opportunities and open doors, businesses, innovators and entrepreneurs ultimately determine whether those opportunities translate into investments, jobs, trade and economic growth.
“Diplomacy opens doors, but it’s the work happening in boardrooms, on factory floors, and in negotiations between companies that proves most consequential,” he said.
Heffern also pointed to a number of practical issues that would determine the future of the bilateral economic relationship, including trade facilitation, customs modernisation, standards alignment and the removal of barriers to investment.
He said these issues were not merely policy discussions but directly affected businesses and investors operating in both countries.
“They are the practical, on-the-ground issues that determine whether a shipment clears customs on time, whether a new factory gets built, or whether a promising Nigerian startup can access U.S. capital and markets,” he said.
The U.S. envoy said he looked forward to further discussions on the issues at the Nigerian Economic Summit scheduled for October, where government officials and private-sector stakeholders from both countries are expected to examine the future direction of the economic partnership.
He said the summit would provide an opportunity for stakeholders to have candid discussions on how to expand trade and investment and strengthen the mechanisms supporting commercial relations between Nigeria and the United States.
He stressed that the next phase of the relationship should focus on converting existing goodwill and diplomatic engagement into concrete economic outcomes.
Heffern said the U.S. mission remained committed to working with Nigerian government officials and private-sector stakeholders to identify areas where both countries could unlock new investment opportunities and improve the business environment.
He described the gathering as more than a celebration, saying it represented an opportunity to build momentum around the next chapter of U.S.-Nigeria economic relations.
“Tonight’s gathering is about more than celebration, it’s about momentum,” he said.
He expressed optimism that continued collaboration between both countries would strengthen their economic partnership in the years ahead.
Heffern thanked the American Business Council and other participants for their contributions to strengthening commercial ties between the two countries, saying their work remained central to the success of the bilateral relationship.
He concluded by raising a toast to continued economic cooperation between Nigeria and the United States, saying both countries should look beyond the commemoration of the past and focus on building stronger partnerships for the future.
“Here’s to the next 250 years of doing business together between our two nations,” he said.
Also speaking, Margaret Olele, Managing Director, American Business Council, Nigeria, highlighted the longstanding cultural and commercial connections between Nigeria and the United States, describing the relationship as one characterised by significant affinities between the two countries.
She pointed to the long presence of American companies in Nigeria and the influence of American products and culture on Nigerian society as examples of the depth of the relationship.
O’Malley also referenced the influence of American culture on Nigerian music, noting the role of the United States in the evolution of contemporary Nigerian popular music.
She said the series of events marking the 250th anniversary of the United States was designed to celebrate both cultural connections and the economic opportunities emerging from the bilateral relationship.
She said the Nigerian Economic Summit would provide an opportunity to highlight existing areas of cooperation while exploring ways of improving business relations between the two countries.
According to her, ongoing conversations between Nigerian authorities and U.S. stakeholders on trade facilitation and related reforms were helping to create a more conducive environment for business.
She added that discussions were also underway with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce towards a trade mission to Nigeria in connection with the summit, while further engagements were planned through the U.S.-Nigeria business roundtable.
On his part, Wole Abu, managing director, Equinix Nigeria Limited, highlighted digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence as emerging areas with significant potential to transform Nigeria’s economic relationship with the United States.
Abu noted that the world was entering a new phase of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, with artificial intelligence expected to become increasingly integrated into virtually every sector of the economy.
He said although AI development was currently concentrated among a relatively small number of companies with access to huge amounts of talent, capital and computing power, the technology would increasingly become available across industries.
According to him, AI could eventually become as fundamental to economic activity as electricity, creating opportunities across finance, agriculture, education, healthcare and other sectors.
He said Nigeria’s relationship with the U.S. economy was particularly important because American companies and investors remained major players in the technology ecosystem.
The technology executive also highlighted the importance of data centres and digital infrastructure to Nigeria’s economic transformation.
He noted that significant investments were already being made in data infrastructure, while further opportunities existed as demand for cloud computing, AI and digital services continued to grow.
He said issues surrounding data privacy, ethical data use and data sovereignty would become increasingly important as countries sought to determine how their data was stored, processed and utilised.
“Very soon there will be AI sovereignty,” Abu said, stressing that Nigeria would need to develop the capacity and policy frameworks required to participate meaningfully in the emerging AI economy.
He further observed that many of the companies shaping the global data and technology ecosystem were American firms, making cooperation with the United States increasingly important to Nigeria’s digital ambitions.
However, he noted that Nigeria still faced significant infrastructure gaps, particularly outside Lagos.
According to him, most of the country’s major landing stations for international connectivity are concentrated in Lagos, leaving significant parts of the country without adequate digital infrastructure.
He said expanding broadband, data-centre capacity and other digital infrastructure beyond Lagos would be critical to ensuring that the benefits of the digital economy reach other regions and sectors, particularly agriculture.
He also pointed to Africa’s relatively small share of global data-centre infrastructure as evidence of the enormous room for growth on the continent.
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