Nigeria Will Be Among  Top Economies In Three Years -FG

The Federal Government says Nigeria is one of the most attractive investment destinations in Africa.

Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Mariam Katagum, stated this in her keynote address at the Maiden Conference of Nigeria-Egypt Trade Conference and Exhibition with the theme  “For Africa – By Africa” taking place in Cairo ,Egypt.

She  said: “As you are aware, Nigeria is a country blessed with huge natural and mineral resources in commercial quantities, favourable climate conditions and high potentials for industrial development.  We are one of the most attractive investment destinations in Africa today”.

Katagum  noted  that Nigeria is the largest African country by population and size of the economy which the global consulting firm-PwC has projected that Nigeria will be among the top economies by 2025.

She  explained that “At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government made tremendous efforts towards sustaining Micro,Small and Medium Enterprises(MSMEs), which are the engines of economic growth in any economy.

Katagum  disclosed  that the MSME Survival Fund and the Guaranteed Off-take Schemes which is within the framework of the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan, were approved by President Muhammadu Buhari on July 1st, 2021.

She noted that the main task of the N75billion MSMEs Survival Fund was to sustain the livelihood of vulnerable MSMEs and self-employed individuals mostly affected by COVID-19 pandemic.

She added that, to cushion the effect of the hardship, ensure sustainable production and minimise job losses, the Federal Government in 2021 approved a N50 billion Export Expansion Facility Programme (EEFP) as part of its effort to boost non-oil exports, thereby increasing the country’s foreign exchange earnings.

The Minister also disclosed that the Government of Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Nigerian  Export Promotion Council (NEPC) launched the first Export Trade House (ETH) in Egypt on the 21st March, 2022 in Sadat City.

She explained that the choice of Egypt was deliberate, as Egypt is the gateway to North Africa and to boost the trade relations between Nigeria and Egypt.

She explained that  through the ETH, the visibility of Made in Nigeria products and Nigeria’s market share in Egypt and North African Countries will be enhanced.

“The Nigerian Egyptian Cultural, Social and Economic Forum was launched here in Cairo.In addition, the Ministry also participated actively at the Intra-Africa Trade Fair held in Durban, South Africa in November 2021. All these are meant to expose Made-in-Nigeria products in the international market,” she stated.

Amb. Katagum noted  that the Ministry is actively involved in the implementation of the National Quality Policy (NQP) which is meant to guide Nigeria as a country to build a sustainable quality infrastructure in order to make Nigeria products competitive in both the domestic and international market.

She stated  that Commerce 44 is an Export Strategy designed to develop and promote the export of (11) Agricultural Commodities, (11) Manufactured Products and (11) Solid Mineral Products with high export potentials, which will translate to an increase in job creation, income and wealth creation, revenue generation, poverty reduction, increase in volume of export for processed products, improved market access through enhancement of quality and packaging of the identified products to (11) target countries/regions of the world.

Amb. Katagum also disclosed  that, “According to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade, in 2021, Nigerian Exports to Egypt amounted to US$2.96 million, while in sharp contrast, Egyptian Exports to Nigeria was US$138.4 million”.

She expressed optimism  that the  event would help stimulate a more favourable balance of trade between both nations and the two countries  would leverage the Conference as a catalyst to strengthen and develop Nigeria- Egypt collaboration, trade and investments in strategic sectors.