Abuja (dpa) Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz is looking to expand cooperation with the West African country of Nigeria in the energy sector. At the start of his three-day trip to Africa, Scholz stated on Sunday that, in addition to existing oil imports, he would also like to see Germany tap into the large gas reserves of the continent’s most populous and economically powerful country.
“I believe it’s important for us to make use of the capacities available in the world,” said Scholz after talks with Nigerian President Bola Tinubo. He said it would be necessary to “work very hard to diversify production everywhere in the world – especially where resources are available, as is the case in Nigeria”. Africa’s most populous country was “a key market and a partner to German business”, said Scholz.
But talks in Abuja also addressed an issue that is currently receiving a lot of attention in Germany: the limitation of irregular migration. Nigeria is one of the main countries of origin of African asylum seekers in Germany. Scholz said in Abuja that the aim was to facilitate repatriation of those who were not entitled to stay in Germany. At the same time, the immigration of skilled workers is to be promoted. Both were only possible “based on close cooperation between our two countries”, said Scholz.
It is Scholz’s third major trip to Africa in his almost two years as Chancellor, Scholz has pledged to make Africa an even stronger focus of his attention. The Chancellor will also visit Ghana in the course of his three-day trip.
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