U.S committed to strengthening ties with Nigeria – Envoy

The U.S. Consul-General in Lagos, Mr Will Stevens, made this known on Monday, at a reception in honour of the Inaugural Africa Creative Market, in Lagos.

He said the creative industry in the country would redefine the relationship between Nigeria and U.S.

“Our government remains committed to promoting economic growth and trade in the creative industry by preparing Nigerian creatives for the global marketplace.

“The energy, creativity and partnership between the film, music and fashion sectors, attracts everybody to Nigeria and it is the future of our relationship.

“We remain committed to ensuring that we strengthen our ties through the creative industry, as this would help solidify bilateral relations between both countries,” he said.

Dr Inya Lawal, Co-founder, Africa Creative Market, said the platform was created to exchange product ideas between Africa’s creative sector and the global creative industry.

She said that the Africa Creative Market would host a variety of capacity-building events for creatives in film, music, dance and fashion.

Lawal said that it would also explore sustainable business models and opportunities to access trade finance for the creative industry.

“From Aug. 29 to Sept. 3 at the Landmark Centre, we would be holding different sessions and training about fashion, music, photography, and it is free and open to the public.

“These programmes would be used as platform to moving all the sectors in the creative industry forward and it would be exploited to get the best out of it,” she said.

Mr Bada Johnson, Country Director, MTV Base, noted that the Africa Creative Market would be used as a platform to showcase the musical talents in Nigeria to the world.

He applauded the U.S. government for its support, adding the entertainment industry in Nigeria had received tremendous support from relevant authorities.

Kirsten Schaffer, President, Women in Film, Los Angeles, said that collaboration and building bridges between continents and communities was essential to the continuous development of the creative industry.

She noted that the association was committed in ensuring that women got more prominent roles in the industry globally.