Nigeria and Thailand have agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation across technology, agriculture, commerce, and renewable energy, as both nations explore fresh avenues for partnership and investment.

The commitment was made on Wednesday when Vice President Kashim Shettima received a Thai delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister H.E. Yousef Hassan Khalawi at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Nigeria is pushing for a strategic reassessment of its existing bilateral ties with Thailand, with a particular focus on harnessing Thailand’s expertise in deploying intermediate technology in agriculture and related sectors. Thailand, for its part, is advancing a new Thailand-Africa Initiative designed to deepen engagement with key African countries through enhanced people-to-people exchanges, economic relations, and cooperation—especially in agriculture.

The development was revealed in a statement from Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President).

Representing President Bola Tinubu at the meeting, Shettima recognized the cordial relationship between both countries but stressed the need to move beyond conventional trade areas. “I believe that our relationship should go beyond transactions in crude oil, rice production and so on. So, there is a need for us to review our bilateral relationship at a strategic level,” he said.

“Nigeria is a large market. There are enormous opportunities for partnership and investment in agriculture, ICT, renewable energy, and solid minerals, and we have a young population and workforce,” the Vice President added. He encouraged the Thai government and its business community to increase their engagement with Nigeria, pointing to the country’s strategic location in Africa, large population, youthful workforce, and abundant natural resources.

Earlier, Khalawi—on his first visit to Africa—commended the ongoing reforms in Nigeria under the Tinubu administration. He described Nigeria as a strategic partner for Thailand, an influential voice in the Global South, and an emerging leader in e-commerce.

According to him, Thailand is working to establish a new engagement framework with Africa through the proposed Thailand-Africa Initiative, aimed at expanding economic ties, business partnerships, and people-to-people relations. He noted that a key element of the initiative would be greater economic cooperation, particularly in agriculture, while also tapping into Thailand’s experience in Universal Health Coverage and tourism.

“For us in Thailand, we believe that Nigeria is a strategic partner bilaterally and an important window to strengthening ties with Africa, particularly West Africa,” Khalawi said.

The meeting was attended by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Dunoma Umar Ahmed; Thailand’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Thirapath Mongkolnavin; and other senior officials from the foreign affairs ministries of both countries.