NIGERIA AND TUNISIA COMMIT STRENGTHEN BILATERAL COOPERATION
Oru Leonard
The Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Her Excellency Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with the Republic of Tunisia through enhanced cooperation in trade, investment, education, defence, technology, and people-to-people exchanges.
The Honourable Minister made this known during a meeting with the Ambassador of the Republic of Tunisia to Nigeria, His Excellency Mohsen Antit, on Monday, 6 July 2026.
Congratulating the Honourable Minister on her appointment, Ambassador Antit conveyed the warm greetings of the Government of Tunisia and expressed his country’s desire to deepen its longstanding cordial relations with Nigeria. He proposed the revitalisation of the Nigeria-Tunisia Joint Commission as a strategic platform for expanding bilateral cooperation across critical sectors.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, in her remarks, welcomed the proposal, describing the Joint Commission as an important mechanism for promoting trade, investment, and economic collaboration between the two countries.
She emphasised the need to identify practical avenues for cooperation between Nigerian and Tunisian entrepreneurs, particularly through capacity-building initiatives and partnerships in business and tourism.
The Tunisian Ambassador disclosed ongoing efforts to improve air connectivity between both countries through proposed flight routes linking Tunis, Cotonou, and Abuja. The discussions also explored opportunities for expanding bilateral cooperation through the conclusion of agreements on visa-free travel for holders of diplomatic passports, defence cooperation, and other areas of mutual interest. The Ambassador further invited the Honourable Minister to undertake an official visit to Tunisia to explore the country’s growing tourism sector.
Highlighting opportunities in education and technology, Ambassador Antit disclosed that Tunisia annually offers six fully funded scholarships to Nigerian students but noted that the opportunities had remained largely underutilized. He also proposed the establishment of drone manufacturing facilities in Bauchi State as part of efforts to strengthen technological and industrial cooperation.
The Honourable Minister assured the Ambassador that the Ministry would engage relevant stakeholders, including the Federal Ministry of Education, to improve awareness and utilization of the scholarship programme.
On regional peace and security, the Honourable Minister sought Tunisia’s experience in addressing the proliferation of small arms and light weapons from Libya. The Ambassador explained that Tunisia had adopted a multi-layered border security system comprising five levels of security checks to curb illicit arms trafficking.
Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening Nigeria-Tunisia relations through the early convening of the Joint Commission and the conclusion of pending bilateral agreements in key areas, including double taxation avoidance, defence cooperation, livestock development, legal and judicial cooperation, education, business promotion, technology transfer, and visa-free arrangements for holders of diplomatic passports. They also pledged to sustain high-level engagements in pursuit of their shared bilateral objectives.
(MFA Press, Monday 6, July 2026)
