Judul : Speaker Abbas seeks establishment of parliamentary diplomacy
link : Speaker Abbas seeks establishment of parliamentary diplomacy
Speaker Abbas seeks establishment of parliamentary diplomacy
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen on Sunday called for the establishment of parliamentary diplomacy that will provide a platform to fast-track frameworks for medical exchanges, academic recognition, joint research, and targeted investments between Cuba and Nigeria.
Speaker Tajudeen gave the charge in Abuja while receiving a delegation from Cuba led by Hon. Fernando González Llort, a hero of the Republic of Cuba, member of the National Assembly of the People’s Power of Cuba (ANPP), and President of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the People’s (ICAP).
Represented by his Deputy, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, Speaker Tajudeen lauded the existing diplomatic ties between both countries, calling for the deepening of the bilateral relations.
He however drew up some strategic markers which included parliamentary and health diplomacy, trade and culture, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, saying their implementation will help to birth a robust parliamentary partnership.
He said: “Nigeria’s foreign policy, guided by the principles of African solidarity and cooperation across the Global South, continues to prioritise partnerships that promote peace, development, and shared prosperity. The 10th Assembly is committed to advancing this through laws that enable economic cooperation,cultural exchange, and global dialogue.
“We also recognise Cuba’s legacy of parliamentary solidarity, from decolonisation struggles to calls for global equity. It is both strategic and moral to formalise collaboration where our legislatures can deliver, through law-making, institutional strengthening, and parliamentary diplomacy that yields real benefits for our peoples.
“Our tools are laws, oversight, and convening power. The Nigeria–CubaThe Parliamentary Friendship Group provides a platform to fast-track frameworks for medical exchanges, academic recognition, joint research, and targeted investments. Parliamentary diplomacy must yield real outputs: MOUs, ratified agreements, and funded programmes.
“Bilateral trade between our countries is minimal. According to UN Comtradereports, Nigeria’s imports from Cuba were just US$2,380 in 2024. Yet our cultural ties run deep in music, sports, and literature. Let us convert this affinity into opportunities for artisans, agri-entrepreneurs, and creative industries. Education, Skills, and Youth Exchange Nigeria’s demographic dividend depends on skills for the 21st century.
“Scholarships in Cuba, paired with Nigerian internships and reciprocalplacements, can produce professionals fluent in international cooperation.
“Cuba’s record is proven: over 1,200 doctors in 21 “Henry Reeve” brigades and tens of thousands still deployed worldwide. Joint training, health expertise exchange, and co-developed treatments can strengthen Nigeria’s health systems.
“Nigeria prioritises affordable medicines and vaccine capacity. Cuba’s biotech,including the Abdala COVID-19 vaccine (92% effective against severe disease inpublished studies), shows what is possible. Partnerships in research, techtransfer, and pilot manufacturing can boost vaccine production, protect the public health, and create jobs while advancing Africa’s self-sufficiency.
“Nigeria sees this relationship not as a one-way street but as a balancedexchange. We value Cuba’s achievements in health, biotechnology, and education, while Cuba can benefit from Nigeria’s 200 million-strong market, rich resources, vibrant creative industries, and continental leadership. From energy and agriculture to pharmaceuticals, tourism, sports, and culture, the opportunities are diverse and compelling. This is true reciprocity: Cuba brings tested knowledge, Nigeria offers scale and opportunity, and together we can uplift our peoples and the wider Global South.”
Emphasizing the benefits of the relationship, Speaker Tajudeen further said that the visit should mark the beginning of concrete frameworks between the Nigerian Parliament and Cuba’s National Assembly.
“The path ahead requires candid conversations on capacity, financing, and mutual benefit. Our agreements must guarantee technology transfer, fair protection of intellectual property, and local value chains that translate into jobs, clinics, and stronger universities.
“Let this visit be more than protocol; it must mark the beginning of concreteframeworks between the Nigerian Parliament and Cuba’s National Assembly, and a people-to-people compact linking Abuja to Havana, Lagos to Santiago, and even Bende to Camagüey.
“As lawmakers, we stand ready to advance the legislative instruments, whether in cultural diplomacy, trade, or education, that will give this partnership lasting form,” he said.
In his remarks, the leader of the Cuban delegation, Hon. Fernando González Llort lauded the relationship between Nigeria and Cuba, saying they are working on issues of mutual interest to both countries.
He said: “We are very interested in fostering, deepening, and strengthening the relationship between the parliamentary groups, having frequent changes between the two Parliaments, parliamentary groups, and parliaments in general, work together on the issues that are of mutual interest to both countries.
“I think that there are challenges that are best met today, working collectively on the issues of importance, and in strengthening their work, the work of the two countries, not only in the bilateral relations between the two parliaments, but also on international parliamentary forums.
“There was an event last year in Cuba to strengthen and develop what has been called parliamentary diplomacy. Many representatives from parliaments in different parts of the world convened in Havana, to exchange views on parliamentary diplomacy, and we are very interested in doing that also with the Parliament of Nigeria. We appreciate the attendance of the Parliamentary Group of Friendship with Cuba at the event, and we look forward to continuing the changes between the countries.
“There is also for us the importance of the issue of developing the relationship between Cuba and Nigeria, not only at the political level from the governmental point of view, or the parliamentary point of view, but also in economic areas.
“We understand that there are fields in which both countries could work together, from the government or even from companies from each country that could develop relationships in a mutually beneficial way, in which both countries could benefit from the relationship at the economic level. For us, Africa has always been a very important geographical area.”
Llort extended the invitation of the parliament to the Deputy Speaker to visit Cuba to enable them to exchange views on parliamentary diplomacy and other issues of mutual interest and benefits.
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