•Andy Yih-Ping Liu

TAIWAN’S Representative/ Head of Mission in Nigeria Andy Yih-Ping Liu has congratulated Nigeria’s fresh diplomatic engagements with St. Lucia and the Caribbean States.

Liu, in a statement yesterday, asserted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s most successful state visit to the Caribbean nation of Saint Lucia was truly a landmark achievement in Nigeria’s diplomacy.

The statement reads: “We, the people and Government of Taiwan, wholeheartedly congratulate H. E. President Tinubu for his visions and concrete actions of extending Nigeria’s connection with the Caribbean Island state, just like Taiwan has made diplomatically with St. Lucia.

“Taiwan (ROC) and St. Lucia, as well as three other Caribbean island nations, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Haiti, have long established diplomatic relations with full-fledged embassies setting in each other’s capitals.

“Our diplomatic presence of embassies, together with Development and Technical Aid of medical, agricultural, women and youth empowering, trade and investment strengthening, sustainable development, etc., have truly assisted St. Lucia as well as other Caribbean nations to grow well economically and socially.”

Liu noted that during President Tinubu’s visit, he would have toured some facilities jointly developed by the Taiwanese government and St. Lucian authorities.

“We’re proud to offer our helping hands that produce fruitful results, and we certainly welcome wholeheartedly that Nigeria will also be joining this humanitarian and economic collaborations in the Caribbean area.

“We are extremely delighted to witness President Tinubu graciously receiving the conferment of Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Lucia (K.C.O.S.L.) in recognition of his efforts to strengthen ties between Africa and the Caribbean.

This has showcased His Excellency’s visionary exploration and escalation of Nigeria’s ever-growing international status, and his grand movements in deepening the collaboration with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

“Prime Minister Philip Pierre, that H. E. President Tinubu has met in St. Lucia, visited Taiwan to attend President Ching-Te Lai’s inauguration ceremony on May 20th, 2024.

Also, St. Lucia’s Senate President Madam Alvina Reynolds, that President Tinubu has also met, visited Taiwan to attend our National Day Celebrations on October 10th, 2024.

All these have demonstrated how cordially the diplomatic relations between Taiwan and St. Lucia have been, and our bilateral cooperation have truly showcased Taiwan is such an indispensible and healthy partner for St. Lucia, as well as other Caribbean nations.

“Taiwan (ROC) has survived the heavy pressure from across the Taiwan Strait, and flourished outstandingly in the world, both democratically and economically on nation building.

“We the Taiwanese people are privileged to share our advanced know-how and technology to any country globally, so that we can work together in weathering through all sorts of challenges.

It is therefore, once again, we would like to congratulate dearly for President Tinubu’s diplomatic achievements in his landmark State Visit to St. Lucia, and also sincerely express our goodwill for any future strengthening of Nigeria-Taiwan relations, either in this great nation of Nigeria or in our shared diplomatic allies of St Lucia and the Caribbean states.

“Taiwan remains humble and ready to share its vast knowledge with Nigeria in various fields of comparative advantages, and we would appreciate deeply that His Excellency President Tinubu and Nigeria to view and regard Taiwan as a most advanced and developed, healthy partner, to build substantial relations, like what we have contributed and collaborated in Saint Lucia,” he said.

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, is moving ahead with plans to build a major seaport near his fertilizer and oil refinery plants, a move aimed at easing exports and powering the continued expansion of his vast industrial empire.

Bloomberg reports that Dangote confirmed that his group submitted paperwork in late June to begin work on what he described as “the biggest, deepest port in Nigeria.”

The proposed Atlantic seaport will be located in Olokola, Ogun State, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) from his massive fertilizer and petrochemical facilities in Lagos.

Currently, Dangote exports fertilizer and urea through a private jetty he built near the refinery site, the same jetty that also receives the heavy equipment needed for operations.The new port will help integrate logistics and export activities across the group.

It could rival key facilities in Lagos, including the Chinese-backed Lekki Deep Sea Port, which opened in 2023.

“It’s not that we want to do everything by ourselves,” Dangote said, “but I believe this kind of investment will inspire other entrepreneurs to get involved too.”

Beyond fertilizer exports, Dangote also plans to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Lagos.

This project will require the construction of pipelines from the Niger Delta, according to Devakumar Edwin, vice president of the Dangote Group.

Image: Ocean economy/UNCTAD

Global trade expanded by an estimated $300 billion in the first half of 2025, growing at an estimated 1.5% in the first quarter and projections showing 2% growth in the second.

UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) disclosed this in its just released Global Trade Update (July 2025).

Said the report:

Price increases contributed to the overall rise in trade value. Prices for traded goods edged up in the first quarter and likely continued to rise in the second, while trade volumes grew by just 1%.

Developed economies outpaced developing countries in the first quarter of 2025, reversing recent trends that had favoured the Global South. The shift was driven by a 14% surge in United States imports and a 6% jump in European Union exports.

Trade imbalances widened during the last four quarters, with the US posting a larger deficit, while China and the European Union recorded growing surpluses.

The report further said that global trade faces mounting headwinds in the second half of 2025, amid persistent policy uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and signs of slowing global growth.