Nigeria and the United States have agreed to establish working groups
that will focus on strengthening cooperation in security, economy and
tackling corruption reports Reuters.
Both countries released a joint statement after day long talks at the
State department, saying that they will produce a paper within a month
of finalizing goals.
United States Secretary of State, John Kerry met with Nigerian
Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama on Wednesday, where they both agreed
on Boko Haram militants posing as a security challenge in the northeast
Nigeria and countries neighbouring that region plus talked on the tough
economy in the West African nation that has been caused by the drop in
oil prices.
“Under President Buhari, Nigeria has been taking the fight to Boko
Haram and it has reduced Boko Haram’s capacity to launch full-scale
attacks,” Kerry said, “however, the group still remains a threat, a
serious threat, to the entire region.”
The United States will be assisting the Nigerians on the war against
Boko Haram further, after recently helping the Nigerian army forces
improve in information sharing tactics and train, equip two infantry
battalions according to Kerry. He further said that security forces
should avoid human rights abuses.
Nigeri’s President who is the United States for a nuclear security
meeting will be meeting with John Kerry, United States Secretary of
State on Thursday in the side-lines of the meeting attended by leaders
from over 50 countries.