23/07/2026
Germany has Africa in focus as demonstrated by this visit of our German Foreign Minister
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has called on German companies to move more quickly and think more flexibly when it comes to investing across Africa. Following talks with influential figures in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub, he described the continent as “a continent offering great opportunities for Europe”.
Wadephul is on a four-day trip to Mauritania, Nigeria and South Africa with a business delegation, and he describes the visit as an initiative to capitalise on opportunities through long-term engagement, rather than as a one-off diplomatic stopover. In his view, this requires a sustained commitment from both the German Government as a whole and the business community.
Nigeria is at the centre of this: with over 240 million inhabitants, it is Africa’s most populous country and one of the continent’s largest economies. Nigeria is also Germany’s second most important trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa after South Africa. As Africa’s largest oil producer, Nigeria remains heavily dependent on revenue from crude oil exports – a factor that shapes both the country’s economic prospects and the pressure to diversify.
The final stop is South Africa, where Wadephul will visit the Siemens Energy site and meet with high-ranking political partners. The branch employs more than 300 staff and manufactures turbines and generators for power stations, as well as supplying equipment for solar and wind farms.
