British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, on Friday met with Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to discuss bilateral partnership on technology-driven water transportation, investment and smart city initiative.
Mr Sanwo-Olu, in company of his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, received the British envoy and her entourage in his office on Friday for the bilateral meeting held behind closed doors.
Ms Laing said the meeting was necessary, as it was in continuation of a dialogue with Lagos State government on areas of partnership.
She told journalists after the meeting that their discussion was centred on strategies to be adopted by the state government and private sector partners to enable Lagos realise its aspirations to be a leading city in technology and innovation on the African continent.
“There are three topics in particular that we discussed. The first is around the governor’s vision and how the United Kingdom (UK) can support Lagos to achieve that vision.
“Technology is changing the world. Lagos is one of the few city-states in Africa that is well positioned to take advantage of the fourth industrial revolution around innovation, robotics and artificial intelligence,” she said.
The envoy said there would be a discussion around the African Investment Summit holding in London next January in which 20 African countries, including Nigeria, would be participating.
She said the summit would offer a platform for Nigeria to rebrand itself by convincing some of the investors on how it is solving some of its challenges, especially in security and infrastructure.
Laing said the UK would be willing to support Lagos specifically in two key areas of harnessing the waterways for efficient transportation and digital inclusion, which are the hallmarks of smart cities.
