Nigeria and the United States have signed a framework agreement aimed at deepening American investment in Nigeria’s mining sector and developing the country’s estimated $700 billion mineral resources.

The agreement was signed and exchanged on Wednesday at the Nigerian Mission House in New York by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, and the US Deputy Secretary of State, Christopher Landau, on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly. 

The framework provides for cooperation in geological data and exploration, mineral development and processing, infrastructure development and technical capacity building.

Alake said the agreement would provide a foundation for government-to-government cooperation and business-to-business partnerships across Nigeria’s mineral value chain.

He said Nigeria was seeking to move beyond the export of raw materials by increasing local processing, developing technical skills, creating jobs and expanding opportunities for Nigerian businesses.

“Our goal is to turn potential into lasting value at home through stronger local processing, new skills, quality jobs, and new opportunities for Nigerian businesses,” Alake said. 

The minister said the framework would support the Federal Government’s economic diversification and industrial development objectives, adding that the next phase would involve identifying viable projects, mobilising investment and establishing commercial partnerships.

“Now comes the harder and more important work: moving from agreement to implementation. A signature is a promise, results are the proof,” he said. 

Landau said the United States viewed Nigeria as an important regional partner and expressed Washington’s readiness to support the country’s economic growth.

“The signal we are sending is that the United States and Nigeria are partners,” he said. 

Nigeria’s mineral resources are estimated by the Federal Government at about $700 billion, although the figure represents an estimate of the country’s mineral endowment rather than a guaranteed or immediately recoverable investment value. 

The agreement comes as Nigeria seeks to attract more foreign investment into its largely underdeveloped solid minerals sector and increase domestic value addition in critical minerals.