Stronger cooperation between German and Nigerian think tanks

How can Nigerian and German think tanks work more closely together in the future? This question was the focus of a meeting of representatives from think tanks in both countries on 5 November 2025 in Berlin. The Nigerian Foreign Minister opened the meeting.

Organised by the Nigerian Embassy in Germany, the Federal Foreign Office and the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), the workshop took place following the meeting of the Binational Commission of both countries. Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar opened the event. In his speech, he addressed, among other things, the threats by the US to intervene militarily in Nigeria. He emphasised that research, evidence-based policymaking and trust-based cooperation are the foundation of international cooperation and are also of central importance for future cooperation between Nigeria and Germany.

Three panels then discussed the history of Nigerian-German cooperation, current geopolitical challenges and opportunities for future cooperation. In addition to the Nigerian Institute for International Affairs (NIIA) and the Nigerian Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), as well as GIGA, the Federal Foreign Office and the Nigerian Embassy, IDOS was represented on the panels by Michael Roll.

Finally, the participants formulated proposals for future cooperation between the countries and, in particular, the think tanks. The proposals related to the main topics of ‘people, migration and academic exchange’, ‘trade and energy’ and ‘security’. They included, among other things, the proposal to promote regular migration, including that of students and researchers, to establish a German import promotion office in Nigeria, and to conduct a scientific evaluation of German development cooperation with Nigeria over the last 20 years. With regard to security, it was suggested that think tanks from both countries should cooperate more closely in order to better understand the security and governance challenges and their causes in Nigeria and the Sahel and to be able to advise more effectively on them. The meeting ended with a reception by the Nigerian Embassy at the invitation of Nigerian Foreign Minister Tuggar.