Udeh Unveils Nigeria–Türkiye Plan to Convert Research into Marketable Innovations

Nigeria’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr Kingsley Udeh, SAN, has stated that Nigeria will henceforth commercialise its research outcomes into viable products.

Udeh, who is among President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s entourage to Türkiye, revealed this while speaking to ARISE News.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria noted that Türkiye had become advanced in turning research outcomes into marketable products and that Nigeria, through his ministry, had reached an agreement with Türkiye to collaborate in that regard.

“We want to use commercially viable products to solve our national problems, and Türkiye is a nation that has actually become advanced in turning research outcomes into products and marketing them across the world.

“So, part of the agreement we had today is to design an action plan between Nigeria and Türkiye to support taking research outcomes and turning them into viable products,” Udeh stated.

Our correspondent reports that through one of the agencies of the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Nigeria is also pursuing new opportunities in technology, space research and innovation with Türkiye.

Dr. Kingsley Udeh engaging in technical sessions and conducting site visits at leading Turkish technoparks, as part of the ongoing partnership initiative.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s visit is intended to deepen the cordial relations between Nigeria and the Republic of Türkiye, while exploring new areas of cooperation to advance a mutually beneficial partnership between both countries.

According to a post shared on the president’s verified X handle, the state visit will be “creating a clear pathway to a five-billion-dollar trade volume between Nigeria and Türkiye”.

Continuing, the president’s post read:

“Our conversations were practical and forward-looking: trade and investment, energy, education, defence cooperation, peace and security, and the creation of a Joint Economy and Trade Committee to unlock new flows of capital and deepen Turkish investment in Nigeria.

“At the conclusion of our meetings, nine agreements were exchanged across defence, education, media, diaspora policy, trade, social development and institutional cooperation between our foreign ministries.”