The EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta
Urpilainen, made this known during the launch of the Global Gateway initiative
on Thursday in Abuja.
According to Urpilainen, the Global Gateway initiative is
crafted to enhance connectivity, promote sustainable development, and
strengthen economic ties between the EU and its partner countries, including
Nigeria.
She said that through the initiative, the EU would support
Nigeria to achieve enhanced infrastructure connectivity, including transport,
energy, digital networks; support agriculture, economic growth, health and
education.
“It will also promote sustainable development and
environmental protection; and foster cooperation and partnerships with Nigeria
and other partner countries.
“We are living in an increasingly fragmented world. The war
that Russia started against Ukraine last year, the military takeover in Niger
in July, and the escalation in Israel-Palestine conflict, are just stark
reminders of that.
“In such a world, the Global Gateway strategy is our
positive offer to build resilient connections in the world through strategic
partnerships to jointly address the challenges of our times from fighting
climate change to improving health systems,” she said
“Together, we intend to mobilise 300 billion Euros in
investments by the year 2027, and half of them for Africa; it is 150 billion
Euros by the year 2027; Nigeria features prominently in the Global Gateway
investment package.”
Urpilainen said that the EU would support the 5G rollout in
Nigeria, as part of its efforts to support the digital economy and it is
working on a potential loan to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in
the digital and print sectors.
She added that the EU has committed financial resources to
support the energy sector, including the setting up of mini grids and small
hydropower plants for productive and public purposes.
“In 2022, we launched a digital economic package for
Nigeria. With EU and European Investment Banks, investments worth 820 million
Euros, it is a lot of money.
“We are already supporting the roll out of digital IDs
nationwide, mobile network expansion with MTN in Lagos and other states.
“We are also about to launch the construction of a line
between Katsina and Daura twin lines, and we are proposing to reinforce the
Nigeria-Benin interconnection of the framework of the West African power pole,’
she said.
Urpilainen said that education is the most transformative
investment anyone could make so an empowerment project is being launched in
North Western Nigeria in cooperation with government to promote quality basic
education in the northern regions.
She said Nigeria is also a major beneficiary of the student
mobility and higher education cooperation project under Erasmus+ with more than
2,020 students from Nigeria granted scholarships for studying in the EU in
2022.
The EU is committed to a long-term partnership with Nigeria
under the Global Gateway to achieve shared goals and objectives.
”The EU’s long-term commitment will see investments into the
following sectors of the country: Agriculture (€42,000,000), Energy
(€37,000,000), Health (€45,000,000), Digital (€55,000,000), Education
(€45,000,000), and Social Protection (€46,000,000).”
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