TheCable

The European Union (EU) says – as friends – it is in Nigeria to help the country diversify its economy away from oil.

This was disclosed by Lukáš Parizek, the state secretary of the ministry of foreign and European affairs of the Slovak Republic, at the fifth EU-Nigeria business forum in Lagos on Thursday.

“In terms of the Economic Partnership Agreement, I am sure that it will contribute to mutual trade and investment. Duty-free and quota-free access in the EU market will definitely confirm enormous potential of our relationship,” he said.

“We are here to help diversifying the Nigerian economy and this Agreement is supportive for it. Moreover it will be helpful in the current context of persisting low-oil prices that Nigeria has to face.

“Therefore I would like to encourage our Nigerian partners to join our, let me use the expression, the“Economic Partnership Agreement club.”

He commended the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari, emphasising that an EU-Nigeria pact would be difficult without him.

“I would like to express my personal gratitude to the current administration of President Buhari. They have made a great job, and without them, it would be hard to imagine putting the Economic Partnership Agreement on the table.

“Doing business with the EU, Nigeria can tackle a number of its own challenges. I am convinced that our deeper ties will lead towards further economic stability, prosperity and win-win results.”

Michael Arrion, Head of EU Delegation in Nigeria, also said “the European Union and Nigeria have developed robust economic relations with very large trade volumes at €30 billion in 2015”.

“The EU is the top destination for oil and non-oil exports from Nigeria. Nigeria is also a key beneficiary of EU Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) with FDI stock of €30 billion in 2015.

“The focus of last year’s forum was agriculture, which is the sector where Nigeria has the most obvious comparative advantage for the diversifying her economy.

“I am pleased to announce that the most tangible result of last year’s forum was the commencement of an agricultural policy dialogue between the EU and Nigeria.

“The agricultural policy dialogue was officially launched in September, and is gradually intensifying, as witnessed by the presence this week in Nigeria (and today here at the Forum) of Mr Clarke, the Director of International Relations of the Directorate General for Agriculture of the European Commission.

“I am also pleased to announce that on February next year, the EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Phil Hogan, will lead a business delegation to Nigeria seeking for opportunities to invest locally in agribusiness.”