Sam Philip
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, on Monday held a bilateral meeting with Alva Romanus Baptiste, Minister for External Affairs, International Trade, Civil Aviation, and Diaspora Affairs of Saint Lucia.
The meeting, which to explore is part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ongoing state visit to Saint Lucia, focused on new frontiers of cooperation and mutual engagement.
The Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy, to the Minister, Alkasim Abdulkadir, in a statement, disclosed that the Minister emphasized on the deep historical and cultural bonds between Nigeria and Saint Lucia, which is rooted in African ancestry, the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade, and shared British colonial heritage.
Ambassador Tuggar appreciated the anticipated formalization of diplomatic relations between Nigeria and Saint Lucia, highlighting that the Nigerian High Commission in Port of Spain currently provides interim diplomatic and consular coverage for Saint Lucia.
He explained that the establishment of official diplomatic ties would serve as a vital platform for enhancing bilateral and multilateral collaboration between Nigeria and Caribbean nations, particularly within the OECS and CARICOM frameworks.
The Minister, however, proposed the development of a structured partnership between Nigeria’s Technical Aid Corps (NTAC) and Saint Lucia’s Political & Economic Cooperation Development Division, which involve the deployment of Nigerian professionals in sectors such as health, education, agriculture, and technical services; the exchange of best practices in governance, youth empowerment, and institutional capacity-building; and design of joint capacity development initiatives that can serve as models for broader Africa–Caribbean collaboration