Vice President Kashim Shettima and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister of Kingdom of Thailand, H.E. Yousef Hassan Khalawi during a courtesy visit to the Vice-President in the Presidential Villa on Wednesday, 26-08-2026. Photo credit: Presidency
Nigeria and Thailand are set to strengthen bilateral cooperation in technology, agriculture, commerce and renewable energy, as both countries explore new areas of partnership and investment.
The development emerged on Wednesday when Vice President Kashim Shettima received a Thai delegation led by the country’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister, H.E. Yousef Hassan Khalawi, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Nigeria is seeking a strategic review of its existing bilateral relationship with Thailand, with a particular focus on leveraging Thailand’s comparative advantage in deploying intermediate technology for agriculture and other related sectors.
For its part, Thailand has proposed a new Thailand-Africa Initiative aimed at strengthening its ties with key African countries through increased people-to-people exchanges, economic relations and cooperation, particularly in agriculture.
The development was disclosed in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha.
Representing President Bola Tinubu at the meeting, Shettima acknowledged the cordial relationship between Nigeria and Thailand but stressed the need to expand the partnership beyond traditional areas of trade.
“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.
“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 said.
Shettima also called on the Thai government and its business community to deepen engagement with Nigeria, citing the country’s strategic position in Africa, large population, youthful workforce and abundant natural resources.
Earlier, Khalawi, who is on his first visit to Africa, commended the transformation taking place 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.
Khalawi said the proposed Thailand-Africa Initiative would provide a new framework for engagement with Africa, with a focus on expanding economic ties, business partnerships and people-to-people relations.
He identified agriculture as a key area of economic cooperation, while noting that Thailand was also interested in sharing its expertise 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,” he said.
The meeting was attended by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Dunoma Umar Ahmed; the Ambassador of Thailand to Nigeria, Mr. Thirapath Mongkolnavin; and other senior officials from the foreign affairs ministries of both countries.
