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Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills, has stated his country’s interest in engaging Nigeria and other African countries through expanded trade and private sector investments to drive economic growth.

Mills made this known on Thursday in Lagos during a policy speech and fireside chat at the Lagos Business School with the theme, “Toward a Robust U.S.-Nigeria Commercial and Investment Partnership.”

The ambassador stated that the new U.S. administration led by President Donald Trump was refocusing the country’s strategy in Africa.

He noted that the newly launched state department’s commercial diplomacy strategy for sub-Saharan Africa marked a new chapter in U.S.-Africa relations.

Mills stated that the strategy was rooted in a goal to expand economic opportunity, deepen commercial engagement, and long-term mutual prosperity.

He noted that 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.

“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 said.

He said Nigerians also had the largest African diaspora group in the United States.

“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,” the ambassador said.

Mills stated that as U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, he had been given a key priority by mandate to increase trade, investment and business linkages between both countries.

He said that to achieve this goal, the U.S. Department of Commerce, working together with Nigeria’s Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment, signed a Commercial and Investment Partnership (CIP) agreement.

CIP is a five-year memorandum of understanding which prioritises the Nigerian government three key pillars of agriculture, digital economy, and construction.

“The way the CIP works is both governments have agreed that we will establish working groups in these areas, agriculture, tech, infrastructure, with both U.S. and Nigerian private sector representatives.

“They will take a hard look at each of these sectors’ non-tariff barriers to trade and other regulatory challenges which, maybe for too long, have dampened two-way trade and investment.

“Both governments commit in the CIP agreement to listen and to learn from these private sector representatives on what concrete steps both governments can take to address these challenges,” he said.

Mills added that instituting the process in Nigeria would create new opportunities for jobs, boost innovation, and unlock some new opportunities.

He, however, noted that the process required not only natural resources and human capital but a stable, transparent, and business-friendly regulatory and investment climate in both countries.

“We stand ready to partner with Nigeria to strengthen the institutions and the regulatory frameworks that will make Nigeria an even more attractive place to do business.

“My colleagues and I at the U.S. Mission will continue to work with our Nigerian counterparts across the federal and the subnational governments to support ongoing reforms that are critical to attracting U.S. foreign direct investment into Nigeria.

“United States is committed to strengthening our trade relationship and continuing to work with Nigeria to unlock the full potential of our commercial partnership,” he said.