The Federal Government, FG, has announced plans to accelerate Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows from Europe to bolster economic growth and strengthen international partnerships.
Bolaji Akinremi, Director of Economic, Trade and Investment at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced this during a dialogue of a private sector delegation of companies from Germany/Europe held on Monday in Abuja and hosted by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC).
He says the relationship between countries preceding Nigeria’s independence has been very strong and beneficial.
This, he said, is reflected in the fact that three of the five top export destinations of Nigerian products in the fourth quarter of 2022 are from European Community member states, including Spain, Netherlands, India, France and Indonesia, accounting for 9.70%. 9.03%, 7.71%, 7.70% and 7.44%, respectively, of total exports.
Akinremi added that members of the European Community have continued to maintain close ties with Nigeria, with the presence of 19 member states, Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates in the country.
Nigeria also has reciprocal relations in most European capitals and with the Community.
“It might interest this august gathering that I was an Ambassador in Germany for about 6 years; I can speak authoritatively on the robust relationship between Nigeria and Germany. We, however, wish to take this relationship to a higher pedestal through an increase in FDI.
“I am reliably informed that the delegation comprises 20 of the highest-valued companies from Europe. I can assure you that your visit will benefit our two countries most highly,” he told them.
Explaining further, Akinremi said the commodity with the largest export values in the year was petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals crude with N4,911.92 billion representing 77.24%, followed by Natural gas with N704.88 billion accounting for 11.08% of total exports.
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He said trading between Nigeria and Germany is also encouraging being the later’s second largest trading partner in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“ The country’s total trade volume to Nigeria in the year 2022 was 3 billion Euro while Nigeria exports to Germany in the corresponding year was US$806 33 Million,” he said
Representing the Minister, Akinremi added that the government has institutionalized some policies aimed at fast-tracking FDI into Nigeria in line with the President’s recent meeting with some Heads of Government in Europe to ensure that the feat is achieved immediately.
He, therefore, assured foreign investors that their investments in Nigeria are safe as there is enough market in the country and minerals and human resources abound.
In his remarks, Michael Schmidt, deputy head of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), said. However, the delegation is made up of companies from various sectors, the main direction is the support for the upgrading of the food processing sector, improvement of the energy infrastructure and waste management packaging.
According to him, the meeting was very important because it brought together the government, key decision-makers, the private sector and partners of UNIDO here in Nigeria.
He said the mission is about trade, and UNIDO is trying to enable and increase industry capacities in Nigeria. “We are touring the country. We’ve been to the southwest, had events in Lagos and Ibadan in Abeokuta, and are now finishing off here in Abuja.”
Schmidt also noted that the Nigerian market is not saturated, and the main challenge is to fulfil the needs and potential of the local market as there’s a lot of positive development in the country.
He said the UNIDO supports local companies and investors in improving their efficiency, accessing international markets, improving their standards and this part of the process.
“We’ve visited industrial zones, free zones. We’ve talked to the state government, and the governor has received us. We’ve seen the road construction, we’ve seen private players investing in this infrastructure and also, we’ve seen the energy and the entrepreneurial spirit by the private sector to ramp up production, to keep the production, to improve, to go into new value chains, to develop, to create jobs,” he stated
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