Nigeria to review foreign policy for development: official

A comprehensive review of Nigeria's foreign policy would help to address corruption, terrorism and other challenges to the nation's development, a top official said on Friday.

Bulus Lolo, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said this at a retreat for the assessment of Nigeria's foreign policy and its delivery capability in central north Kaduna State.

The official urged participants in the retreat to take cognizance of the issues of corruption, terrorism, climate change, and dwindling fortunes from oil, among other challenges to the country's development, in taking a decision on how Nigeria would remain relevant at the sub-regional, continental, and global levels.

"These are a few issues that I believe as diplomats we need to reflect on and decide that in our interaction at the bilateral level, in ECOWAS, on the continent and globally, Nigeria must remain relevant," he added.

The permanent secretary described the country's foreign policy as an extension of its domestic policy abroad, saying that the decisions made at the retreat would affect Nigeria's conduct abroad.

"When we have eternal cohesion; when we have good governance; when we have stability and our people prosper, we act with confidence," he said.

He said the participation of ambassadors from neighboring countries in the retreat was also an opportunity to review Nigeria's foreign policy toward Africa.

The two-day retreat is being organized by the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs with participants drawn from the ministry and agencies under it.

The ambassadors of Chad, Niger, Benin, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Sao Tome and Principe to Nigeria are attending the retreat.

The retreat is expected to develop an action plan that will facilitate the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the country's foreign policy. Endit