The United Kingdom government would be hosting the Africa Investment Summit in London on January 20, 2020 with the aim of bringing together businesses, governments and international institutions to showcase and promote the breadth and quality of investment opportunities across the continent.
Catriona Laing, the British High Commissioner in Nigeria while speaking at 18th Nigeria Oil & Gas Conference in Abuja, the nation’s capital, stated that mutual prosperity existed at the heart of the UK’s partnership with Africa.
The United Kingdom continues to promote the merits of Nigeria and the broader African continent as an economic partner of choice ahead of the UK’s upcoming Africa Investment Summit taking place in London.
The three-day conference themed “Promoting Investment & Collaboration in Nigeria’s Oil & Gas Industry” is one the most-attended industry events in the country and served as a meeting place for senior decision makers from government and energy industry organisations in Nigeria.
In her goodwill message as the guest of honour, during the opening ceremony, the UK High Commissioner acknowledged that a key focus of discussions at the conference centred around increasing foreign direct invest into Nigeria.
The envoy added that Nigeria’s FDI strategy was very much in line with the UK government’s trade and investment strategy of increasing investment opportunities into Nigeria and across the broader African continent to meet the ambition of making the UK the number one G7 investor on the African continent by 2022.
According to her, “The City of London has unparalleled expertise in the services that enable companies to access capital, along with a range of specialist legal and professional services.
The London Stock Exchange is home to 7 of the largest 10 listed oil & gas companies globally, and proud to say, home to quite a few Nigerians ones as well, like Seplat and Vivo Energy.”
A spokesperson of the UK Department for International Trade, Nigeria, noted that bilateral trade and investment between the UK and Nigeria had increased by nearly 40% from 2017, and was on course to double by 2030.
“The UK already benefits from our strong connections – between families, governments and businesses – with African nations,” said, adding that “the Africa Investment Summit is intended to celebrate and build on these common links and forge new bonds.”
MIKE OCHONMA
