The federal government of Nigeria wants its South Korean counterpart to invest in electric vehicle projects in Nigeria.

This was disclosed by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar via his X page on Wednesday. 

The request was made during his meeting with a  Korean official at the sidelines of the Korea-Africa 2-day Summit. 

The summit already saw the South Korean government pledging about $24 billion for the development and trade benefits of African countries including Nigeria. 

Nigeria’s Request  

Tuggar disclosed that Nigeria was conducive enough to accommodate Korea’s electric vehicle projects. 

The call is apparently part of the Nigerian government’s move to diversify its economic from overdependence on crude oil products. 

He stated,  

“During a productive bilateral meeting at the Korea-Africa Business Summit, I engaged with my Korean counterpart to explore enhanced cooperation.  

“We focused on strategic areas such as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), automotive processes, and potential investments in electric vehicle projects.  

“I emphasized Nigeria’s commitment to facilitating Korean investments with incentives and ensuring the security of Korean citizens and assets.” 

Also, Tuggar acknowledged the significant contributions of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in Nigeria, particularly in education and entrepreneurship. 

He called for the expansion of these initiatives, advocating for increased support in language training and cultural exchange programs. 

He reiterated Nigeria’s aspiration for a seat on the United Nations Security Council, highlighting the country’s role in Africa and our commitment to promoting denuclearization and peace in crisis-stricken regions. 

“In defense, I called for heightened cooperation, seeking support in access to kinetic and non-kinetic weaponry to address the conflicts in the North-East of Nigeria and surrounding communities,” he added. 

More insights 

The Nigerian government  had revealed it graced the Africa-Korea Summit seeking to strengthen economic ties with the Republic of Korea, after exporting alloys and unwrought aluminium worth N3,400,420,000 to the country, late last year. 

This is amid the Korea-Nigeria bilateral trade(import) which reached about N304,619,077,676.23 in the last quarter of the 2023 financial year. 

From the Korean side, 

it prides itself on its Korean businesses whose presence in Nigeria is playing a huge role in resource development and construction. 

“In construction, the total value of orders received by Korean companies reached US$ 15 billion in 2020, which means that Nigeria is by far the biggest construction market to Korea among Sub-Sahara African countries,” the statement on the Korean government website partly reads. 

According to data from the Korean government, InvestKorea, South Korea’s automobile industry produced more than 400,000 electric vehicles, and exports reached 267,000 units in 2022, making Korea, the world’s fifth-largest automobile producer, with its home-based Hyundai Motor Group emerging as the world’s 5th largest electric car seller last year, following BYD, Tesla, VW and Stellantis, as of 2023. 

Nairametrics previously reported that several companies are entering Nigeria’s electric vehicle industry, planning to assemble thousands of EVs locally, driven by the rising petrol prices and the government’s removal of fuel subsidies, making EVs an attractive alternative for Nigerians.  

Hence, FG’s plan to offer incentives to Korea is its way of attracting investment from a big player in EV production. 

The Director General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Mr Joseph Osanipin, had said the government recognised the level of investment EVs could bring to the country, adding that the current administration was committed to collaborating with relevant stakeholders to support such innovations.