Nigeria’s success really matters to UK — Foreign Secretary

By : NAN

Date: 2 May 2019 2:21pm WAT

BRITAIN-ISRAEL-HISTORY-JEWS-HOLOCAUST-MEMORIAL DAY

Britain's Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt delivers a speech at the annual Holocaust Memorial Commemoration event, co-hosted with the Israeli Embassy, in central London on January 23, 2019. - The Foreign Secretary will deliver a keynote speech and unveil the Frank Foley bust. Frank Foley was a British Secret Intelligence Service Officer who in the late 1930s saved thousands of Jews by helping them escape Nazi Germany. (Photo by Tolga AKMEN / POOL / AFP)

The United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, on Thursday expressed his home government’s commitment to ensuring successes in Nigeria, during his visit.

Hunt gave the reassurance to Nigerians in his response to questions sent to him from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

“Nigeria’s success really matters to the U.K. As we leave the European Union, now is the time to redouble our efforts and commit to the partnerships we have with our African friends.

“The opportunities we see right now in Africa are tremendous, with enormous potential to grow.

“We must see African nations as partners and destinations for investment and trade,” he said.

According to him, a free press is the first secure basis for prosperity in a world where innovation and technological advance are the central conditions for progress.

The foreign secretary, who visited the North-East region of the country on Wednesday, also reaffirmed the U.K. government’s commitment to fighting Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa.

“The conflict here involving Boko Haram and Islamic State has displaced two million people.

“U.K. support for World Food Programme has helped feed 1.5 million but we are also focusing on the long term solutions to improving livelihoods and opportunity,” he said.