The United Nations (UN) in Nigeria and the European Union (EU) have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation to support Nigeria’s development priorities and deliver sustainable results.
Mohammed Fall, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, and Gautier Mignot, Head of the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, disclosed this at a strategic partnership meeting in Abuja on Thursday.
The meeting, held under the EU-UN Strategic Dialogue, focused on strengthening cooperation, advancing collective impact across Nigeria, supporting UN reforms and enhancing collaboration between the EU, its member states and key UN agencies.
The dialogue also reviewed existing partnerships and explored ways to improve the implementation of development projects across the country.
Fall said the global partnership between the UN and EU remained one of the most significant forms of international cooperation, with the EU supporting UN activities beyond financial contributions.
He disclosed that the partnership had resulted in projects worth about $ 400 million in Nigeria.
“ There are a lot of issues and questions around multilateralism and international solidarity, but the UN and the EU stand together to support solidarity between countries, multilateralism, development and humanitarian assistance,” he said.
Fall explained that both organizations regularly reviewed their partnership to renew their commitments, identify areas requiring improvement and address emerging challenges.
He stressed the need for stronger collaboration with the Nigerian government, particularly in mobilizing domestic resources to address the country’s development gaps and humanitarian needs.
“We need to work together and have the Nigerian government increase its engagement and mobilization of domestic resources to tackle the development gaps, as well as humanitarian assistance needs in the country,” he said.
Mignot identified education, governance, democracy, human rights and security as key areas in which the EU prioritized collaboration with the UN.
He said the strategic dialogue was designed to improve project implementation and ensure that the benefits of joint interventions reached Nigerians.
According to him, the partners reviewed a portfolio of about 32 projects funded by the EU and implemented in collaboration with 16 UN agencies.
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“We combine all financial contributions or grants from the EU and the technical expertise and political expertise of the UN in the field,” Mignot said.
He described the partnership as triangular, noting that it also involved the Nigerian government at both federal and state levels.
Mignot said the collaboration would continue to leverage the financial resources of the EU and the technical and political expertise of UN agencies to address Nigeria’s development challenges.
 in Nigeria and the European Union (EU) have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation to support Nigeria’s development priorities and deliver sustainable results.){kind=link}