New York, July 31, 2010 (NAN) The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Odein Ajumogobia, and the U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton are scheduled to meet in Washington D.C. next week.
The meeting is coming two months after the working group on energy and investment of the U.S.-Nigeria Bi-National Commission (BNC) met to explore the renewable energy and energy efficiency opportunities for Nigeria.
The Nigerian Ambassador to the U.S., Prof. Adebowale Adefuye, confirmed the meeting to the New York correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Adefuye noted that the high-level meeting was scheduled to discuss issues of mutual concern between the countries within the framework of the BNC agreement.
NAN reports that the Commission is a collaborative forum to build partnerships for tangible and measurable progress on issues critical to both countries.
The working group on good governance, transparency and integrity met in May in Abuja, followed by the energy and investment group in Washington.
Both countries planned to meet in September in Washington to inaugurate the Niger Delta and regional security cooperation working group of the commission.
NAN learnt that while in the U.S., Ajumogobia is expected to feature at a forum organised by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) to discuss U.S.-Nigeria relations.
He is also expected to meet privately with the U.S. Security Adviser.
In a related development, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Dr Jubril Martins-Kuye, is to attend the ninth U.S.-Sub Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum, also known as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
The meeting will take place from Aug. 2 to Aug. 3 in Washington D.C. and from Aug. 4 to Aug. 6 in Kansas City, Missouri.
The AGOA Forum will bring together more than 600 participants, including senior U.S. and African officials, as well as U.S. and African members of the private sector and civil society.
AGOA, approved by the U.S. Congress in 2000, allows for duty-free entry of specified goods into the U.S. from AGOA-eligible countries of Sub-Saharan Africa.
In June, the U.S. urged Nigeria to optimise the opportunities provided by AGOA and the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement to encourage its non-oil exports into the U.S. market.
Both countries are currently discussing the possibility of a bilateral investment treaty for the promotion and protection of investments in their respective countries. (NAN)
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