Nigeria Advocates For Gender-Inclusive Diplomacy At Gender Summit 2025
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, has urged Africa to move “from aid to investment” by leveraging economic diplomacy that dismantles barriers holding back women and youth.
Speaking at the Gender Summit 2025 high-level plenary, in Abuja, Ambassador Tuggar stressed that Africa, with a GDP of $2.8 trillion and a population projected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050, stands “on the cusp of transformation.”
Yet, he warned, growth without inclusion would be fragile and unsustainable.
He highlighted stark gender gaps, noting that women dominate the informal economy yet remain excluded from formal trade, hold less than 5% of seats in Nigeria’s National Assembly, and face limited access to finance.
Tuggar outlined Nigeria’s response, including President Bola Tinubu’s 4-D Diplomacy agenda: Development, Demography, Diaspora and Democracy, which embeds gender and youth inclusion at its core.
He also pointed to initiatives such as the National Women’s Economic Empowerment Policy and Action Plan, and regional commitments to dismantle barriers to women’s economic participation.
“Equity is not optional. Inclusion is not charity,” he declared. “They are the foundations of a prosperous, stable, and sustainable Africa.”
