On 12 October 2023, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andris Pelšs, met with the non-resident Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to Latvia, Shina Fatai Alege, who was in Latvia on a farewell visit.
During their conversation, Andris Pelšs underlined Latvia’s desire to strengthen political dialogue with Nigeria and the potential for economic cooperation between the two countries, especially in the field of information technology. The Latvian-Nigerian trade has seen significant growth in recent years, increasing from EUR 19.55 million in 2018 to EUR 246.81 million in 2022. Ambassador Alegi thanked the State Secretary for cooperation until now and expressed hope that bilateral relations with Latvia would become more active, and he called for the promotion of exchange visits between officials.
The State Secretary outlined Latvia’s position on Russia’s war against Ukraine and thanked Nigeria for its support for the United Nations initiatives in that context.
The visit included a meeting with Antoņina Ņenaševa, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima (the Latvian Parliament), in order to discuss the parliamentary cooperation between the two countries.