Economy: US deputy treasury secretary, Adeyemo, to visit Nigeria

This visit aligns with Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu’s commitment to reform and revitalise the country’s economy.

It also follows President Biden’s pledge to deepen the United States’ engagement with Africa through a $50 billion investment over the next three years.

The U.S. is striving to regain lost ground in its geopolitical competition with China and Russia for influence in Africa, the U.S. Economy Day, reports.

Adeyemo, born in Ibadan, emigrated to California with his family at the age of two.

The trip is said to be Adeyemo’s first visit since becoming the highest-ranking member of the African diaspora in the Biden administration.

During his visit, Adeyemo plans to meet with government officials and representatives from the technology, entertainment, and finance sectors.

He will also engage with American companies operating in Nigeria and visit local projects funded by the U.S. government as the trip marks his return to Nigeria after many decades.

The US views Nigeria as an opportunity due to its youthful workforce just as Nigeria has taken steps to attract foreign investors by easing currency controls and eliminating fuel subsidies, actions that have strained its finances for years.

“It’s one of those opportunities to go to a place that means a lot to me personally, but also to go to a place that means a lot to me professionally, just given that Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy with a huge demographic boom.

“It’s just a great chance for me to talk about how we can deepen the economic relationship and the strategic relationship at a moment when Nigeria has a government that’s already taken really important steps in terms of economic reform,” Adeyemo said in an interview with The New York Times.

Adeyemo will discuss addressing corruption, safeguarding the financial system from illicit finance risks, diversifying the economy away from petroleum, and embracing renewable energy.