Nigeria Is Fully Open For Business And Investment
The Nigeria President, Muhammadu Buhari took a message took to France last week, and to South Africa this week, at the Intra-African Trade Fair 2021, in Durban. That, Nigeria is fully open for business and investment
Nigeria showed up in Durban in full force, to actively participate in this very important Trade Fair, and to take full advantage of all the opportunities it provides.
The last edition of the Fair, in Cairo, Egypt, saw Nigerian businesses at the Durban Fair secure deals worth over 3.3 billion dollars. We are optimistic that this year will see even greater levels of engagement and investment success.
There is so much potential for Intra African trade to grow. I am optimistic that the creation of the biggest free trade area in the world, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), will work, and deliver on its immense promise, especially with the active collaboration of the public and private sectors.
We all have so much to benefit from the AfCFTA.
Under the African Continental Free Trade Area, we can double our intra-African trade by 2030, reduce our reliance on imports and therefore create more jobs within the continent.
We cannot achieve this goal by talking alone. The implementation will be a difficult journey. But all challenges are surmountable if both the public and private sectors collaborate.
I also made the very important point, in my Address at the Opening Ceremony, that Free trade must also be fair, and fairness can only be achieved when there is full compliance with regulations, especially those relating to rules of origin.
The AfCFTA is for “made-in-Africa” products and services. Africa must be a marketplace where no country is left behind.
We must leverage one another’s strengths to succeed.
