Nigeria and Japan have taken significant steps towards strengthening collaboration in the mining sector. Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, and officials of the Japan Organisation for Metals and Energy Security have pledged to work out plans to encourage Japanese mining companies to invest in Nigeria’s vast solid minerals industry.
The commitment emerged during deliberations at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama, Japan, where President Bola Tinubu concluded talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, according to a statement on Sunday.
JOGMEC President Michio Daito welcomed Alake and his team, acknowledging Nigeria’s mineral wealth but stressing the need for broader economic information to help Japanese firms evaluate potential risks. “We need more information on power generation for industries, tax incentives, labor, duty waivers, free trade zones, and entry and exit conditions,” Daito said, adding that Japanese mining firms rely on JOGMEC to guide their investment decisions abroad.
In response, Alake outlined recent economic reforms under President Tinubu’s administration, including the removal of fuel subsidies and exchange rate unification, which have “eased investments and positioned the solid minerals sector.” He emphasised Nigeria’s critical role in Japan’s supply chain for processed minerals, urging JOGMEC to “invest in the extraction and processing of its mineral needs in Nigeria before exports to Japan in line with the administration’s policy on local value addition.”
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