President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria has again highlighted on the benefits of a stronger collaboration between his country and France during a farewell visit on Friday, January 12, 2024, by the new French Foreign Ministry’s Director for Africa, Emmanuelle Blatmann, who just finished serving as the French Ambassador to Nigeria.
In the farewell meeting that followed between him and the departing French Ambassador, President Tinubu urged Ambassador Blatmann to use her new position to promote the urgent need for both countries to “upgrade technical cooperation” in order to combat violent extremism and terrorism.
He commended Ambassador Blatmann for her commitment to fostering better ties between her country and Nigeria and advocated for increased collaboration to combat the ongoing menace of terrorism.
‘’In the fields of commerce, education, the arts, and culture, as well as the economy, you have done a fantastic job of fostering bilateral ties between the two nations. We appreciate your efforts in Nigeria and President Macron’s appointment of you to a new role as Africa Director, it is a testimonial that you excelled in your task in our country.
‘’You will always be welcomed in Nigeria. On regional security, we want you to remind Paris at every opportunity that it is necessary to upgrade our technical cooperation in our joint efforts to defeat terrorism and counter violent extremism in the region,’’ he said.
When speaking about her tour of duty in Nigeria, Ambassador Blatmann highlighted France’s noteworthy investments and impressive growth in bilateral trade, among other noteworthy accomplishments.
The Nigeria-France relations is a strategic one as France is one of the permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) with veto power, and Nigeria is bordered on almost all sides by former French colonies, which are still French-speaking African countries that harbour French military bases.
