President Bola Tinubu mentioned on Thursday that Nigeria’s high-grade lithium reserves can fuel the clean energy future of Europe and the world.
He also referred to Nigeria’s young population of around 200 million as “a huge market” for Dutch investors, suggesting collaboration between the two countries to reduce illegal migration.
“There is a great opportunity between us in various trade areas, especially in solid minerals, where we have high-grade lithium reserves that we believe can fuel the clean energy future of the world,” Tinubu stated when he met Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands at his official residence, The Catshuis, in The Hague.
The President’s Spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, disclosed this in a statement he issued on Thursday titled ‘President Tinubu meets with Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands, details roadmap for enhanced trade opportunities across sectors.’
Tinubu remarked that Nigeria presents vast opportunities across various sectors and that his administration is intensifying reforms to improve the investment environment.
As a result, the country is seeking strong, balanced, and mutually beneficial partnerships to add value in areas such as solid minerals.
“There is significant value-adding opportunity in Nigeria. The world knows us for oil. They will soon recognize us for greater innovative achievements in other areas,” Tinubu mentioned.
He informed Rutte that Nigeria is blessed with an “extremely vibrant youth population” as 70 per cent of its people are under 30.
Furthermore, its “200 million plus citizens…constitute both a massive workforce and a massive market for Dutch and other international investors,” the President affirmed.
Tinubu also observed that such demographic advantage can translate into an amazing talent pool that does not need to leave the country to achieve success.
He suggested, “If our young people know they can achieve a promising future in Nigeria, they will stay home and build our nation to greatness.
“Legal migration of trained Nigerian minds and hands will benefit Europe, and irregular migration will no longer be a source of fear in Europe if we partner effectively. This is what we want.”
The President stated that this is why his administration is “insistent” on providing student loans and new credit opportunities to not only improve the skills of Nigerians but also to ensure they can access a better quality of life within their legitimate incomes.
“We will transform our economy, and our young people will be the reason why,” Tinubu stated.
He also declared that Nigerians have immense confidence in themselves and that his confidence in the Nigerian people gave him the courage to make hard decisions on their behalf, given his full awareness of the need to provide Nigerians with the long-term tools they need to succeed.
Tinubu claimed, “I am a resolute leader of my people. I have and will continue making tough decisions that benefit our people, even if there is short-term pain. We have gone through the worst of the storms.
“I am unafraid of the consequences once I know that my actions are in the best long-term interests of all Nigerians. The Nigerian Naira is one of the world’s best-performing currencies today.
The speaker took a necessary risk, and all strong Nigerians remained faithful to us. They will be rewarded, and the reward will be even greater as we work effectively with you on new development opportunities. As leaders, we must make decisions for the benefit of our countries, and we cannot avoid doing that.
The leader of the Netherlands revealed that President Tinubu’s economic changes have created more confidence in the Nigerian economy among international investors.
According to Rutte, Dutch investors have set in motion another $250m worth of new investments in the next few months, including a $100m investment in a waste-to-wealth industrial facility in Lagos State.
He said to Tinubu, “You are promoting democratic governance and the solutions it can bring in dealing with problems of development.
“I saw how you went through democratic channels to remove an incumbent president in 2015 in partnership with President Buhari and how that has led to development in your country. I saw you make the courageous decision to deal with fuel subsidies and other reforms, and we are interested in what allowed you to make the decisions that many before you could not take.
“And you took those decisions early in your term. It shows rare determination. And your stand in ECOWAS, all of these point to your commitment to leadership.”
President Tinubu further expressed firm commitment to grow the developmental partnership between the European Union and Nigeria.
Instead of one-sided relationships where bilateral trade is skewed to one direction, he reasoned that symbiotic economic ties remain the best long-term path to sustainable and mutual prosperity.
The Netherlands is Nigeria’s biggest export trading partner in 2023. It ranked the highest among Nigeria’s export destinations with N1.9bn worth of goods representing 15 per cent of the total N12.7bn for the fiscal year.
Since the signing of the Bilateral Investment Treaty between Nigeria and the Netherlands in 1992, areas of economic cooperation include agriculture, IT, healthcare, and renewable energy.
