The Federal Government has signed new agreements with Thailand to strengthen cooperation in agriculture, cooperative development and innovation as part of efforts to implement the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (RH-CRRP) 2030.
The agreements were signed on Thursday, August 27, 2026, in Lagos during a high-level engagement themed, “Building Sustainable Partnerships: Connecting Youth, Innovation and Business between Thailand and Nigeria.”
The agreements include a Record of Discussions involving the Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), Kasetsart University and the Federal Cooperative College, Oji-River, Enugu, as well as a Memorandum of Understanding between Kasetsart University and the Federal Cooperative College.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Sen. Dr Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, said the agreements marked a shift from policy formulation to implementation of the cooperative reform programme.
“Today, we have not merely witnessed the signing of documents; we have witnessed the strengthening of a partnership founded on knowledge, capacity development, innovation, institutional cooperation and shared prosperity,” the Minister said.
Abdullahi said the partnership supports Pillar 2 of the RH-CRRP 2030, which focuses on institutional strengthening, professionalisation and capacity building.
“At the heart of this pillar is a simple but fundamental principle: we cannot build strong and sustainable cooperatives without strong institutions and well-trained people,” he said.
According to him, the reform is designed to strengthen the knowledge, professional competence and leadership capacity of cooperative leaders, managers, regulators and members.
The minister cited an August 12 milestone in Abuja, where the Ministry, the Cooperative Federation of Nigeria (CFN) and Seamfix Limited signed an MoU under the cooperative digitalisation pillar of the reform.
“This demonstrates that RH-CRRP 2030 is moving beyond policy formulation towards implementation, institutional action and measurable impact,” Sen. Abdullahi said.
He said the partnership with Thailand aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and efforts to reposition cooperatives as instruments for agricultural transformation, enterprise development, job and wealth creation, financial inclusion and sustainable livelihoods.
“As we work towards Mr. President’s aspiration of building a one-trillion-dollar Nigerian economy within this decade, strengthening the capacity, professionalism and productivity of our cooperative institutions and the millions of Nigerians they serve will be critical,” he stated.
Abdullahi said Thailand’s experience in agriculture, cooperative development, research and innovation would provide opportunities for mutual learning, while Nigeria has significant agricultural potential, a youthful population and investment opportunities.
He urged the institutions involved in the agreements to translate the commitments into practical programmes with clear timelines and measurable outcomes.
“May today’s signing mark not the conclusion of a process, but the beginning of a stronger and more productive chapter in Nigeria–Thailand cooperation,” the Minister added.
The event was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand; Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; the Ambassador of Thailand to Nigeria; the Ambassador of Nigeria to Thailand; the Director-General of TICA; the Executive Secretary of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN); the President of Kasetsart University; and the Provost of the Federal Cooperative College, Oji-River.
The RH-CRRP 2030 is a seven-pillar reform framework that aims to reposition Nigeria’s cooperative sector as an instrument for inclusive economic growth and distributed prosperity.