The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb Yusuf Tuggar, has stressed the need for Nigeria to have skilled interlocutors in its international engagements.
He stated this while speaking at the inauguration of the Academy of International Affairs (AIA), on Monday, in Abuja.
"One of its (AIA) objectives is to provide support and training for negotiators and the art of negotiation, which is very key because it's important that Nigeria has skilled interlocutors more so now than at any point in time, in contemporary history, because we have a lot of conflicts at the same time.
"We have a lot of trade negotiations going on where Nigeria is involved. So we need the interlocutors with the right skill sets. It is important also that when we negotiate, we're putting our best foot forward," Amb Tuggar said.
He said Nigeria must be able to negotiate 21st-century agreements, adding that "this should be the outlook and that is why we need the Academy also to help prepare us for such engagements."
The minister assured that in implementing the country's foreign policy agenda, "We will continue to rely on the think tank".
On its part, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Sen Kashim Shettima, commended those behind the establishment of the academy, saying "This academy is emerging at a period of its greatest need."
The Vice President whose speech was read by Hakeem Baba-Ahmed at the event, said: "The international environment is becoming increasingly more complex and more demanding of our best intellects, professionalism, commitments and visions to find spaces within areas demanding consensus, or in competitions with others and managing conflicts.
"This Academy will be a Think Tank we cannot afford to ignore. We need your input on achieving our priorities in the context of often harsh and unforgiving circumstances," he said.
President of the Academy, Prof Bolaji Akinyemi, said the AIA aims to contribute to foreign policy formulation and implementation in Nigeria.
He added: "In setting up this academy, we are not only doing Nigeria a favour, we are doing ourselves a favour."
