The European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Samuela Isopi, has said the EU remains Nigeria’s biggest foreign investor with a stock estimated at €26bn.
Speaking at the ninth edition of Nigeria-EU Business Forum in Abuja, themed, “Investing in jobs and sustainable future”, Isopi said that the stock represented one-third of Nigeria’s Foreign Direct Investment stock.
She added that the EU is Nigeria’s largest trading partner with a total trade of almost €35bn in 2023, accounting for about one-third of Nigeria’s foreign trade and a balance – at over €10bn euros – in favour of Nigeria.
She stated that the forum highlights the importance of international partnerships in promoting sustainable economic development.
“Trade and sustainable investment are not only at the core of the renewed hope agenda, they are also at the centre of the partnership between the EU, its Member States and Nigeria. And this is not by chance.
“The European Union is also, Nigeria’s biggest foreign investor with a stock estimated at €26bn, representing one-third of Nigeria’s FDI stock. In collaboration with our Member States and with EUROCHAM Nigeria, the European Chamber of Commerce, we have carried out the first-ever mapping of EU companies present in Nigeria: and the findings are quite extraordinary.”
Isopi stated that the EU and its member States are also a top development partner and first grant donors, covering sectors that are critical to economic growth.
According to her, the European Investment Bank is increasingly active in Nigeria with an important ongoing portfolio, on innovation, renewable energies and private sector development, and new operations in the pipeline.
She disclosed that there are plans to deepen economic ties and promote additional investments by exploring the potential of a Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement.
“More could be done to boost our trade relations. On our side we stand ready to engage, should Nigeria – as the only holdout in West Africa – reconsider its position on the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union, an instrument in support of economic diversification and local added-value, in line with Nigeria’s industrial ambitions.
“The EPA would also open up, fully and immediately, access to the EU market, a market of over 400 million consumers,” local media reports quoted the ambassador as saying.
The reports added that Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, in his address, said that Nigeria country was ready to maximise the potential of its youthful population to drive up trade reiterating that the EU is Nigeria’s largest trading partner.
“Trade is essential for the development of any nation. Trade makes the world go around, and I think most importantly, when we talk about trade, we are not just talking about imports here, we are also talking about exports. So we actually do sell to the EU, and I’ve had a good working relationship with the EU,” Tijani said,
GIK/APA
EU remains Nigeria’s biggest foreign investor –
