Ogun State has intensified efforts to attract foreign investment and development partnerships, showcasing its industrial capacity, infrastructure, agricultural potential and business reforms to international stakeholders at a high-level side event held on the margins of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, United States.

Representing the state at the event, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Development Partners Coordination, Dr Bayo Adenekan, said Ogun was positioned to attract more domestic and foreign investment on the strength of its expanding industrial clusters, infrastructure development, agricultural opportunities and economic reforms under Governor Dapo Abiodun.

Adenekan said the state was seeking stronger partnerships in agriculture, infrastructure, innovation, climate and green financing, youth empowerment and artificial intelligence, among other priority areas.

He said Ogun’s participation at the UNGA provided an opportunity to present its economic potential to a global audience while strengthening relationships with international investors, development institutions and strategic partners.

“Sustained collaboration between government, investors and development institutions remains essential to unlocking Ogun’s economic potential, addressing emerging development challenges and creating opportunities for businesses, young people and communities” .

Adenekan also called for innovative financing mechanisms, particularly climate and green financing, to support infrastructure development and build a more resilient and sustainable economy.

The engagement focused on innovative financing mechanisms for climate action and efforts to accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the Global South.

Discussions also examined Nigeria’s evolving climate governance framework, climate financing and sustainable development initiatives.

Adenekan said Ogun’s investment proposition was underpinned by the development agenda of the Abiodun administration, anchored on the ISEYA pillars, as well as the state’s expanding infrastructure and industrial ecosystem.

He said the state’s participation was part of a broader strategy to attract strategic investments, deepen development partnerships and position Ogun as a destination for sustainable investment, innovation and industrial development.

As part of the engagement, Adenekan presented a copy of the Abiodun administration’s achievements brochure to Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim.

According to Adenekan, Ibrahim pledged to make the publication available as a reference document at the United Nations, the Nigeria Office and the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the UN, as well as a guide to investment opportunities in Ogun.

Also speaking at the event, the Secretary of the UNGA High-Level Global Executive Roundtable and Director-General of the Civil Society Organisations on Community Advancement and Humanitarian Empowerment Initiative (CSCHEI), Chief Kunle Yusuff, highlighted Nigeria’s evolving climate governance framework and efforts to mobilise climate finance.

Yusuff drew attention to the strategic revitalisation of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW), describing the initiative as important to tackling desertification, improving carbon sequestration, strengthening climate adaptation and enhancing livelihood resilience in vulnerable communities.

He said the initiatives were aligned with Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the Paris Agreement and the country’s obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

According to him, strengthening Nigeria’s climate-financing architecture could help attract green bonds, carbon-credit investments and climate-adaptation financing.

The engagement brought together Nigerian business, diplomatic and public-sector leaders, including Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim; former Chairman of Odu’a Investment Company Limited, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru; Group Managing Director of Odu’a Investment Company Limited, Abdulrahman Yinusa; Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Climate Change and Circular Economy, Titilayo Oshodi; and Chairman of SIFAX Group, Dr Taiwo Afolabi.

The Ogun delegation used the forum to further promote the state’s investment opportunities as part of the wider global conversation on sustainable development, climate finance, innovation and inclusive economic growth