Nigeria Targets Trade, Youth, Security Ties at OIC Meeting

Nigeria will seek expanded trade partnerships, humanitarian support for the Sahel, and youth empowerment initiatives at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The Nigerian delegation, led by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, departed from Kano on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, ahead of the high-level summit scheduled for Wednesday, 27 August.

Speaking before departure, Ambassador Enikanolaiye emphasized that Nigeria’s participation in the 57-member bloc is driven by strategic economic and diplomatic interests rather than religious ideology, aligning with President Bola Tinubu’s foreign policy priorities.

Key Strategic Objectives in Jeddah

The delegation outlines several primary focus areas for the international gathering:

• Sahel Security and Humanitarian Relief: Nigeria is advocating for the activation of a joint Nigeria-OIC Working Group on Humanitarian Affairs to address instability, community displacement, and violent extremism across the Lake Chad Basin and the wider Sahel region.
• Trade and Foreign Investment: The delegation plans to hold Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Government (B2G) sessions targeting OIC investors, highlighting reform-driven opportunities in agriculture, manufacturing, automotive industries, and energy.
• Youth and Social Development: Nigeria will push for expanded OIC-funded vocational training, healthcare initiatives, and women’s empowerment schemes designed to bolster local skills development.
• Institutional Leadership: Delegates will participate in negotiations and voting for the election of a new OIC Secretary-General, backing candidates committed to institutional reform and development-focused programming.

Nigeria has been a member of the OIC—the world’s second-largest intergovernmental body after the United Nations—since 1986. Ambassador Enikanolaiye noted that the organization routinely funds non-sectarian development projects across the country and reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to multilateral cooperation.