By Special Correspondent

The Enugu State Government and the European Union, EU, have committed to strengthening their partnerships across various sectors of the economy.

This was made known during a courtesy visit to the Enugu State governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, by a delegation of the EU at Government House, Enugu, at the weekend.

The delegation, led by the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, Mr. Gautier Mignot, also comprised the Ambassador of Belgium to Nigeria, Mr. Pieter Leenknegt, and his Portuguese counterpart, Mr. Paulos Martins dos Santos, among other senior diplomats.

Mignot said the EU was eager to strengthen partnerships with Enugu State in ways that meet the administration’s expectations and align with its vision.

“The purpose of the visit is to meet you, pay you a courtesy visit, to talk about the partnership between the European Union and Enugu State, its potential, and your vision about the future.

“Here in Enugu State in particular, we have been partnering in two sectors, which are education and energy. On energy, we have several projects ongoing. One is Solar for Health, which is implemented by NTU International. Enugu is one of the seven states benefiting from this project and under it we will provide technical assistance and funding for the construction of 20 solar microgrids to power 20 primary health centers and 124 small- and medium-size enterprises.

“We also have the Small Hydro Power for Agro-industrial Sectors Project implemented by UNIDO. Finally, we have the Nigeria Energy Support Programme, which is implemented by the German Agency for International Cooperation, GIZ,” he stated.

This, according to the envoy, included electrification and investment support, training and capacity building, and the funding of three interconnected minigrids up to the capacity of 1 MW to electrify 1,000 beneficiaries.

He also said that Enugu State was one of the states selected from the six geopolitical zones for the ‘Education and Youth Empowerment in Nigeria, Expand, Integrate, and Strengthen Systems (EISS) to Build Teachers’ Capacity and Resilience’, which is being implemented by UNESCO.

Mignot explained that the programme would see to the training of teachers in the Smart Green Schools till June 2028.

He highlighted the partnership between the EU and the Eastern Nigeria International Film Festival, an annual event in Enugu, noting that the event, whose 2025 edition held in Enugu, saw “teachings by aspiring filmmakers with the grant awarded to the best to implement his project of short films as well as the presentation of some movies.”

Ambassador Leenknegt, on his part, highlighted Belgium’s various economic interests in Enugu State and Nigeria, including Emenite Limited, a joint Nigerian-Belgium venture.

“They have existed here for as long as since 1961. They are definitely delivering high-quality products. It is a company with more than 300 employees from the region and I think it will be good to keep fostering this relationship between Belgium and Nigeria,” he stated.

Speaking, the Ambassador of Portugal emphasised the European country’s interests and exploits in the energy, infrastructure, and agricultural sectors of the Nigerian economy, noting also that “the footprint of the European Union in this country is so huge and multidimensional.”

Mbah, in his remarks, appreciated the EU for its partnership and alignment of its programmes with those of his administration in education, health, and various other sectors.

“I have seen a huge alliance between our vision and projects and the aims and objectives of what the EU is doing, particularly as regards your programmes and projects across Africa.

“It has become necessary to equip Enugu children with knowledge and skills to compete in the global economy; hence, we are investing over 33 per cent of our total budget in education. It is a radical move. We know that if we fail to spend that money and equip these kids, we will pay 10 times the money in future,” Mbah stated.

He invited the EU and its member states to be part of the opportunities in the aviation and energy sectors of Enugu State’s economy, noting that his administration would do everything possible to ensure that investments and businesses succeed in Enugu State.

“We have launched Enugu Air. The international wing of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport will soon become operational. That means that we will have more international carriers that will fly from Enugu. We urge you to begin to talk to your home carriers to also begin to think about Enugu.

“We also have opportunities in the gas sector. We are working with the Federal Government to add the gas pipeline, so we are going to unlock the economic potential we have in the subsector gas. We are open for business.”