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Türkiye and Nigeria have signed a memorandum of understanding on mining cooperation, updating a framework first established in 2021 and expanding its scope to cover a broad range of technical and investment priorities.
The agreement was signed by Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and Nigerian Minister of Solid Minerals Development Oladele Henry Alake on the sidelines of the 2nd Istanbul Natural Resources Summit.
The two ministers met ahead of the signing to discuss what Bayraktar described as a roadmap for translating the bilateral potential into concrete outcomes.
Under the updated memorandum, the two governments committed to long-term cooperation in energy and natural resources on the basis of mutual benefit.
The agreement covers a wide range of activities, including mineral exploration, geological surveys, laboratory work, data sharing, mineral processing technologies, and knowledge and expertise exchange.
Provisions were also included for developing joint projects, promoting safe mining practices, and exploring cooperation in small-scale mining operations.
Bayraktar noted that the two countries had originally signed a mining cooperation memorandum in 2021 and that the new agreement reflects an effort to place that relationship on more functional and results-oriented ground.
Writing on social media, the minister said the two sides had consulted on a roadmap to bring the bilateral potential to bear, deepening what he called a strategic partnership spanning resource exploration, technology transfer, safe mining, human resources development, and new investment.
"We believe we will take our partnership with Nigeria in energy and natural resources to a much higher level with a win-win approach," Bayraktar said.
The signing took place within the framework of the 2nd Istanbul Natural Resources Summit, which Türkiye has used as a platform for advancing bilateral resource and energy agreements with partner countries.
Memoranda of understanding in the mining sector are typically non-binding instruments that establish a political commitment to cooperation and create a formal channel for joint technical work, investment promotion, and capacity building, without constituting a legally enforceable treaty.
Nigeria holds significant deposits of solid minerals, including iron ore, coal, limestone, and various industrial metals, though the sector has historically been overshadowed by the country's oil and gas industry.
Türkiye, meanwhile, has been expanding its international mining diplomacy in recent years as part of a broader strategy to secure access to critical raw materials and develop its domestic minerals sector.
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