President Bola Tinubu engaged in a 30-minute phone call with U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday, focusing on key issues in U.S.-Nigeria relations, including law enforcement collaboration and recent developments in cryptocurrency regulation.
The conversation, which took place around 4 PM Nigerian time, was disclosed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, during a briefing with State House correspondents.
“The call was about the collaboration between the two countries with regards to law enforcement and law enforcement agencies as well as the release of one of the suspects of the cryptocurrency exchange company that you are all aware of,” Tuggar explained, referring to the recent release of Tigran Gambaryan, the Head of Finance Crime Compliance at Binance.
During the call, President Tinubu expressed gratitude for the United States’ ongoing partnership in various areas, particularly concerning security in Africa and West Africa.
“Mr. President also thanked the U.S. for the partnership and collaboration in numerous areas with regards to security in Africa and West Africa as a whole,” Tuggar noted.
President Biden emphasized the importance of this partnership, stating, “This is a partnership because the future of the world resides in Africa, and as such, the partnership is important.”
The leaders also addressed the topic of Africa’s representation in the United Nations Security Council, with Biden affirming the U.S. commitment to supporting Africa’s bid for a permanent seat.
“He assured that the United States is committed to seeing Africa having a permanent seat and does not see why one of those seats should belong to Nigeria,” Tuggar reported.
The discussion underscores the strengthening ties between the United States and Nigeria, with both leaders recognizing the significance of collaboration in addressing regional and global challenges.