Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Calls for Bridge-Building Between Europe and Africa at Spain’s Ambassadors Conference
Madrid — Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, has called on Europe and Africa to reject isolationist instincts and instead embrace good neighbourliness grounded in history, geography, and shared responsibility. Delivering a keynote address at the 2026 Annual Conference of Spanish Ambassadors, held in the presence of 182 Spanish Ambassadors in Madrid for the conference. Ambassador Tuggar framed Europe and Africa not as distant continents, but as parts of a single geopolitical space separated by little more than perception. Speaking under the theme “Good Neighbourliness: Building Bridges or Building Walls,” the Nigerian Foreign Minister urged diplomats to focus on what is real rather than abstract, noting that the Mediterranean has historically connected peoples rather than divided them. He stressed that Europe and Africa have long been bound together through trade, labour, and shared economic foundations that predate the modern international system. Am...