United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills, has affirmed America’s renewed interest in boosting trade and private sector investments across Nigeria and Africa, emphasizing the potential for such partnerships to drive robust economic growth.
Speaking during a policy address and fireside conversation at the Lagos Business School, Mills revealed that Nigeria is the United States’ second largest trading partner in Africa, with two-way trade in goods and services reaching approximately $13 billion in 2024.
The event, themed “Toward a Robust U.S.-Nigeria Commercial and Investment Partnership,” saw the envoy outline the shift in Washington’s approach under President Donald Trump’s new administration, which he said is now placing greater emphasis on strategic commercial engagement with the continent.
Highlighting the recent rollout of the U.S. State Department’s commercial diplomacy strategy for sub-Saharan Africa, Mills described it as a significant step toward a redefined relationship between the U.S. and African nations.
“The strategy was rooted in a goal to expand economic opportunity, deepen commercial engagement, and long-term mutual prosperity,” he explained. “Nigeria was already the United States’ second largest trade partner in Africa with a two-way trade in goods and services that totalled roughly $13 billion in 2024.”
He also emphasized the scale of U.S. investments in Nigeria, noting that America remains one of the country’s top foreign investors.
“In terms of actual investment, the United States remains one of Nigeria’s leading foreign investors, with foreign direct investment reaching $6.5 billion in 2023, which is a 5.5 per cent increase from 2022,” he stated.
Mills further acknowledged the cultural and social ties that reinforce bilateral cooperation.
“Nigerians were the largest African diaspora group in the United States with over 750,000 people of Nigerian descent living in Nigeria. These deep-bound bonds of family, educational, business, cultural connections really underscore why Nigeria is important to U.S. objectives and U.S. policy in Africa,” he said.
The ambassador also disclosed that enhancing trade and business ties between both countries is a major element of his diplomatic assignment.
He noted that as part of efforts to realize this goal, a Commercial and Investment Partnership agreement has been signed between the U.S. Department of Commerce and Nigeria’s Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment.
The CIP, a five-year memorandum of understanding, aligns with Nigeria’s national development priorities by focusing on three strategic sectors: agriculture, the digital economy, and construction.
