From stability to opportunity: Reflections on Nigeria’s engagement with Asia — by Olayemi Cardoso
Economic stability is not an end in itself. It must create the conditions for investment, enterprise and sustainable growth. This conviction has guided our work at the Central Bank of Nigeria and shaped our recent engagements across Asia.
Rather than approach the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok as a standalone event, we made a deliberate decision to use the opportunity to deepen Nigeria’s financial relationships across the region. Our programme brought together engagements in Singapore, Bangkok and China, focused on strengthening institutional relationships, deepening financial markets and improving the financial infrastructure supporting trade and investment.
We approached these engagements with encouraging evidence of progress at home. Inflation moderated to 14.63% in September, from nearly 35% at the end of 2024. External reserves exceeded US$55 billion, their highest level in 18 years, while Nigerian banks raised ₦4.65 trillion through recapitalisation, largely from domestic investors.
These are important milestones, but I remain conscious of the economic pressures many Nigerians continue to face. Our responsibility is to sustain this progress and ensure that stability increasingly translates into tangible economic opportunity.
–Cardoso is the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria
