Oscarline Onwuemenyi
12 November 2009
Abuja — Nigeria and the European Union have taken another step towards strengthening relationships and building energy security, especially in the aftermath of the Federal Government's amnesty programme.
The meeting, which was held under the auspices of "Nigeria-EU Joint Way Forward" is an innovative tool to propel the relations between long-standing partners and is fully aligned with partnerships launched under the Africa-EU Joint Strategy.
In a communiqué at the end of the meeting yesterday in Abuja, Nigeria and the EU joined in the urgent call for an effective, equitable and ambitious global agreement on Climate Change, including adaption and mitigation issues.
It noted that energy security was of mutual interest to both parties.
The EU imports 20 per cent and 80 per cent of Nigeria's oil and gas respectively. The Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline Project represents an important possibility to diversify routes.
It stated that: "Nigeria's drive to explore renewable energy is encouraging, heralding the possibility of meeting ever-growing domestic demand through environmentally sustainable means."
Nigeria expressed interest to develop stronger cooperation with the EU regarding research and technology transfer in this area. The EU commended Nigeria's leadership in efforts to defend democracy in Guinea and Niger Republic and welcomed the registered success of the amnesty programme in the Niger Delta; recognised the importance of advancing electoral reform and to step up their engagement on migration.
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