Minister’s Week In Review

Recap (November 25 – 29, 2024) of the activities of Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, Honourable Minister for Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

INTRO 

International cooperation and the role of global partnerships in the development of our nation’s economy was the core of our engagements as demonstrated at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Global leadership Retreat in South Africa and the Presidential Visit in France. Our objective is to consolidate on these collaborative engagements as we progress on our journey towards positioning Nigeria at the forefront of global technology and innovation. 

KEY FOCUS

Trade and Global Partnerships: To achieve our Trade pillar objectives as outlined in our Ministry’s Strategic Blueprint document, I met with global leaders at the UNDP Retreat and in France, to identify areas of cooperation and synergy as we work together to navigate our fast-evolving technologically-driven world.

TIMELINE

Monday

I travelled to Johannesburg, South Africa to attend the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Global Leadership Retreat where we discussed issues around accelerating transformation in Africa.

My first engagement at the UNDP Retreat was to join a panel session themed, ‘Africa's New Frontier: Innovation, Inclusion, and Resilience’. Issues brought forward at the session centred on how the African continent can harness its distinct strengths to effectively advance development priorities.

Tuesday

On Day 2 of the Retreat, I joined a panel session with other key speakers where I spoke on development in an age of disruption. Other speakers on the panel were Achim Steiner, Administrator, UNDP; Yuen Yuen Ang, Alfred Chandler Chair Professor of Political Economy, Johns Hopkins University; and Ghosh Arunabha, CEO, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).

I later had a bilateral meeting with the UNDP leadership team led by Achim Steiner to explore ways of strengthening the partnership between the global organisation and Nigeria towards bridging the digital divide and advancing transformation for the benefit of our country’s young population. 

Wednesday

I travelled to Paris for the official visit of H.E President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to France. President Tinubu and First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu were received by President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte.

On arrival in France, I had a follow up meeting with François Bitouzet, Managing Director, VivaTech to discuss Nigeria’s participation at their upcoming event in Paris. VivaTech is regarded to be Europe’s biggest technology and startup event. 

Thursday

On Day 2 of the official visit, I joined other members of the Nigerian delegation in bilateral talks targeted at deepening the relationship of Nigeria and France, and accelerating the growth of our economy, with technology and innovation as a key catalyst. 

Later that evening attended a State Dinner hosted by President Emmanuel Macron at Élysée Palace in honour of H.E President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The event was attended by notable public and private sector leaders.

Friday

I attended the France-Nigeria Business Forum where leaders across sectors came together to discuss developmental issues in technology, agriculture, renewable energy, infrastructure, and the creative industries. One of the key topics of discussion at the Forum was how to promote synergies between the tech ecosystem of France and Nigeria.

The Nigerian Ministerial delegation at the Forum had Wale Edun, Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy; Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment; amongst others.

Following that session and at the instance of President Macron, I met with Anne Bouverot, Special Envoy for the Paris AI Action Summit, and chairperson Ecole Normale Supérieure, to discuss issues around global AI governance.

I ended my week with a virtual meeting with the Delegation of the European Union to the Federal Republic of Nigeria and ECOWAS, led by Inga Stefanowicz, to discuss support for our Ministry’s work regarding the SPV on developing 90,000km of fibre optic cable for enhanced internet access, work in AI, 3 Million technical Talent (3MTT) programme and others.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

BLUEPRINT REVIEW

Last week, my activities focused on the Trade pillar objective of our Strategic Blueprint as I engaged with other global leaders in South Africa to deliberate on the benefits of cooperation among African nations towards achieving shared prosperity. I also engaged with French Business and Government officials on issues around promoting synergies between the tech ecosystem of both nations for the benefit of our citizens.