The federal government has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening industrial cooperation between Nigeria and Germany in steel development, technology transfer, mineral processing and equipment manufacturing.
The Head of Press & PR of the Ministry of Steel Development, Ijomah Opia, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.
Mr Opia said the Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Audu, stated this on Thursday while receiving a delegation of German Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.
The delegation was led by Chux Onaa, head of VDMA-German Original Equipment Manufacturers.
According to the statement, Mr Audu described the visit as an important step towards translating previous understandings between both countries into concrete areas of industrial collaboration and investment.
He recalled the engagements at the 9th German-African Economic Forum in Dortmund, Germany, earlier in the year, where both countries explored areas of mutual interest in steel value chain development, mining, mineral processing, engineering and industrial investment.
He said the presence of the German delegation in Nigeria demonstrates growing interest of German industries in the country’s industrial sector and presents an opportunity to build sustainable partnerships that will deliver tangible benefits to both nations.
“Nigeria possesses significant mineral and metallurgical raw material resources, alongside a large and growing market with substantial opportunities for industrial development,” Mr Audu said.
He said the federal government, through the ministry, is committed to creating an enabling environment for a competitive, technology-driven and sustainable steel industry capable of supporting infrastructure development, manufacturing, job creation and economic diversification.
He identified key areas for potential collaboration, including deployment of modern technologies, equipment manufacturing and supply, mineral processing, steel production, engineering services, capacity development, technology transfer and development of local value chains.
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The minister also said the ministry is interested in exploring opportunities for German OEMs to participate in ongoing and emerging projects within Nigeria’s steel and metallurgical sectors.
He described the visit as a significant milestone in efforts to establish a robust, high-technology and mutually beneficial industrial partnership, expressing optimism that the engagement would lead to specific areas of collaboration.
Mr Audu reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to fostering stronger bilateral relations with Germany in the steel and metallurgical sectors.
In his remarks, Mr Onaa said the visit was to consolidate areas of collaboration and investment for the development of Nigeria’s steel sector.
He said the organisation has the technology to support raw materials processing in the cement and building materials industry.
