EU urges Nigeria to sign EPA to attract investors

The European Union (EU) has urged Nigeria to sign the comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) in order to woo investors and cut down production costs.

Michel Arrion, ambassador of EU to Nigeria and ECOWAS, said the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) would contribute to the growth of the Nigerian economy.

“We do believe EPA will reduce the duties for the importation of machinery and equipment of raw materials which would improve the competitiveness of the Nigerian industries,” Arrion said, at a technical workshop tagged, ‘EU-West Africa Economic partnership Agreement (EPA): Increased opportunities for Trade and Investments’, held in Lagos.

The EPA is a proposed trade agreement between the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the European Union that seeks to free movement of goods and persons across West Africa and Europe.

“Nigeria is an ideal place to invest, provided a few conditions are met and those conditions are primarily for the stability of the country, improvement of governance and rule of law,” he said, adding that some technical improvement in transport and energy and the skills of the workers were equally needed.

Cristina Alina Modoran, trade affairs manager of the EPA, Africa Caribbean and Pacific Overseas Countries and Territories, said, “The EU is interested in having a stable and well developed region. There is geographical proximity and we have a lot of shared history and traditional relations with West Africa.”

Modoran said the EU had benefited greatly from being together in common market, stressing that the free movement with people within Europe had a number of advantages.

 

ODINAKA ANUDU