Nigeria and Italy have established a bilateral working group to drive a global education financing campaign targeting $5 billion in international funding and an additional $10 billion in domestic education financing across participating countries by 2030.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced this on Thursday in a statement signed by spokesperson Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, confirming that the initiative would culminate at the Global Education Summit in Rome, Italy, in September 2026.

The campaign, tagged the Multiply Possibility Campaign, operates under the Global Partnership for Education framework and is designed to transform learning outcomes for 750 million children worldwide.

"Nigeria and Italy have agreed to form a Working Group to implement the proposed Global Partnership for Education financing campaign aimed at mobilising five billion United States Dollars for Education," the statement read.

"The initiative, tagged the Multiply Possibility Campaign, seeks to transform learning for 750 million children and will culminate at the Global Education Summit in Rome, Italy, in September 2026. The campaign is expected to unlock an additional ten billion dollars in domestic education financing by 2030," it added.

The agreement followed a meeting on Wednesday, 20 May 2026, between the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu, and the Italian Ambassador to Nigeria, Roberto Mengoni. Discussions also covered tourism, economic cooperation and defence ties.

Odumegwu Ojukwu informed the Italian envoy that advancing education aligned directly with President Bola Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda, citing Nigeria's large youth population as a key factor making the summit urgent.

She noted that the partnership would equip young Nigerians with skills, improve employment prospects and help manage migration pressures.

"We are interested in what we can do to keep our youth within our shores in productive ways," she stated, adding that Nigeria was exploring green investments in vulnerable communities.

Ambassador Mengoni confirmed the meeting was necessary for both countries, as co chairs of the Global Partnership for Education, to align on dates and venue arrangements for the summit.