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Nigeria-EU trade volume hits €40b

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In from Ali Smart . . .
Improved trade relations between Nigeria and the European Union (EU) grossed €40 billion as at 2014, Ambassador and Head of EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr. Michel Arrion, has said.
Besides, the size of EU’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Nigeria also grew from €25 billion in 2011 to €30 billion in 2013, a development which shows EU’s robust economic relations with Nigeria.
Speaking at the opening of the 4th EU-Nigeria business forum (EUNBF), which kicked off in Lagos on Thursday, the EU Envoy said while the Nigerian economy remains largely diversified with oil and gas accounting for only 10 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the effects of the oil price slump on overall government revenues and foreign exchange receipts has been significant.
Ambassador Arrion said it was against this backdrop that the 2015 edition of the forum themed, ‘Unlocking Opportunities for Diversification,’ was put together to explore the opportunities available for Nigeria to diversify exports, increase foreign exchange, and attract more FDIs.

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“The most obvious comparative advantage Nigeria has is agriculture. But this must evolve from exports of primary products to value addition,” he said, adding that the overall objective of this year’s forum was to deepen understanding of the role that the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) can play in supporting the diversification of Nigeria’s economy.
Also, the EPA, the Envoy stated, will strengthen EU-Nigeria business relations through identification of opportunities of partnership and hopefully, address the bottlenecks related to the effective development of agric-business in Nigeria.
Also speaking, the European Commissioner for Trade, Ms Cecelia Malmstrom, described the EPA as the pathway to diversification. “For an economy that’s trying to diversify, access to export markets means new companies in new sectors can think big right from the start,” she said.
Citing examples of diversification and development in Asia over the last decades, Malmstrom said those countries grew by opening up to imports-not overnight, but gradually. “Today it’s almost impossible to make a product or deliver a service without some kind of international input. In Asia, the model often involved importing high-tech components in order to assembly them into finished products before re-exporting,” she pointed out.

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