German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is visiting Nigeria as part of a three-day visit to West Africa. Part of his mission is to agree an energy partnership to diversify Germany's energy sources.
The German chancellor continued his visit to Nigeria on Monday in an effort to deepend ties with the African continent's most opopulous country.
In an interview published before trip, which will also include a visit to Ghana, Olaf Scholz revealed that he was seeking to import natural gas from country, which is also Africa's largest economy.
What is Germany seeking from Nigeria?
"Nigeria has the biggest gas supply in Africa," Scholz told the Nigerian daily The Punch. "German companies are interested in gas deliveries from Nigeria and look forward to cooperation with Nigerian gas companies."
While Germany already imports large quantities of crude oil from Nigeria, it does not not import gas.
The chancellor said Berlin was also exploring "joint initiatives to ramp up the hydrogen market," with hydrogen expected to play an important role in meeting future energy needs.
The German chancellor also pointed out that therre was potential for greater cooperation and investment between the two countries in other sectors.
"This applies to a variety of sectors, ranging from infrastructure and energy to agriculture business, mineral resources, information and communication technologies, transport and logistics, and beyond," he told The Punch.
Scholz also pointed out that Nigeria was Germany's second-largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa, with direct German investments in Nigeria amounting to €150 million ($158 million) in 2021.
More help with security
Scholz has said German ought to expand support for Nigeria's military and the police when it comes to the fight against Islamist terror groups such as Boko Haram, which operates in the northeastern part of Nigeria.
The extremist group carries out bloody attacks against civilians and increasingly taking control of territory.
Nigeria has emerged as one of West Africa's most stable democracies since the end of a miliary dictatorship in 1999.
It is expected that, on the trip, Scholz will also press for Nigeria to repatriate asylum seekers whose applications are not recognized by Berlin.
Source: DW
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