By Milton Tella – The United Kingdom has appointed Dr Richard Montgomery CMG as the new British High Commissioner to the Federal Republic of Nigeria in succession to Ms Catriona Laing CB who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment.
His Excellency, Richard Montgomery who will take up his appointment this month of April 2023, was at the Nigeria High Commission London to visit his counterpart, the High commissioner of Nigeria to the United Kingdom, His Excellency, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola OFR on Thursday, 2 March 2023.
The two top diplomats confirmed the importance of maintaining bilateral economic relations as they held various discussions on political relations, trade, investment and economic cooperation as it relates to their two countries.
Ambassadors Isola and Dr Montgomery both pledged to work together to promote opportunities to increase trade and investment to strengthen economic cooperation, create mutual growth and improve the relationship between the UK and Nigeria.
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Dr Montgomery appreciated Ambassador Isola’s assignments in the UK. He said, “I am very conscious you have steered the Nigeria-UK relationship in a very positive direction on a number of fronts. I look forward to seeking your advice and insights, and l hope we can work in partnership to build on this progress in the months and years to come.”
Ambassador Isola assured Dr Montgomery of his maximum cooperation and wished him all the best in his assignment in Nigeria.
Richard Montgomery was the UK Executive Director at the World Bank Group Boards from 2018 to 2022. His role included ensuring that the improvements agreed by shareholders in 2018 were implemented.
Richard worked on the global COVID response, the UK’s G7 and COP26 presidencies, and the World Bank Group’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its global impact.
He was previously a Director at the Department for International Development (DFID), overseeing Asia, Caribbean and Overseas Territories Division. This included country programmes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar, and 10 other overseas offices and UK-based departments.
Before that, Richard served as Head of Office in Pakistan (2013 to 2015) and Nigeria (2009 to 2013), and Head of Corporate Human Resources (2006 to 2009). He has also worked in DFID’s top management group and DFIDoffices in Zambia, Bangladesh and India.
Before joining DFID Richard worked in a German engineering company, as a lecturer in development studies in Swansea University, and as a consultant for development projects across Asia. He studied anthropology, and has a PhD from Cambridge University on economic and social change in north India.
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