Nigeria and the U.S. have established a joint working group to chart modalities for mining development.

The group was established during a meeting between the Nigerian delegation led by its Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, and the U.S. delegation led by Amos Hochstein, the senior adviser to the U.S. president on energy and infrastructure.

The meeting between the duo took place on the sidelines of the ongoing ‘Investing in Africa Indaba’ conference in Cape Town, South Africa.

In a statement issued by the minister’s media aide, Segun Tomori, on Wednesday in Abuja, Alake stated that the meeting aimed to strengthen collaboration with the U.S.

The meeting in South Africa was a follow-up to the visit of the United States Deputy Chief of Mission, David Greene, to the minister’s office in Abuja on February 1.

During the meeting, the U.S. committed to partnering Nigeria to train its security agencies to secure its mining sites.

The U.S. also expressed interest in investing in the extracting and processing of Nigeria’s minerals.

In South Africa, Hochstein had declared the interest of the U. S. to partner with Nigeria in unlocking investments in the mining ecosystem.

He said these investments would involve infrastructural development and technical assistance in upscaling mining operations, among other investment opportunities.

The senior advisor disclosed that the U.S. was working with the Federal Government to finance clean energy options.

Mr Alake described the U.S. as a longstanding ally of Nigeria, pointing out that a new vista of collaboration for mining development would strengthen bilateral relations, benefitting both countries mutually.

“We are putting in place reforms to ensure that we have an enabling environment in the sector, different from the experiences we had in the past,” he said.

He expressed confidence that the joint group would be instrumental in fast-tracking and disseminating information between the two countries to produce the requisite modalities.

(NAN)