Nigeria, UK target N2trn trade

The Federal Government and theUnited Kingdom have disclosed that the two countries had reached the final stage in their plan to double international trade between them by 2014.Addressing the press, Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga and the Secretary, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, United Kingdom, Dr Vince Cable, disclosed that the factors militating against effective trade between the two countries had been identified and were now being addressed to ensure the actualisation of the 2014 deadline.The current value of trade between the two nations stands at 4 billion (about N960 billion). Steps are being taken to raise the figure to 8 billion (N1.9 trillion) by 2014.Identifying the areas being worked upon by the two countries, Aganga explained that issues of barriers to trade were being looked into, in addition to strategies aimed at enhancing the small and medium enterprises sector as well as the diaspora.He said the meeting between his ministry and its counterpart in the United Kingdom was a follow up to an earlier discussion between the leaders of the two countries, President Goodluck Jonathan and David Cameron, where they agreed to increase the volume of trade by 100 per cent.Aganga said 'we have had a useful businessroundtable, which is a follow up to the meeting between President Goodluck Jonathan and David Cameron, where they both set a target to double trade in the two countries by 2014.'There is no shortage of interest in investment in Nigeria. We have all it takes to attract investments. We are making the environment friendlier. We have fertile land, good weather, 34 solid minerals in commercial quantities, all of which make Nigeria an investment destination of choice.'Prior to the press briefing, Aganga and Cable had an interactive session with leading companies (in construction, fashion, textile, education, creative sectors, among others), both from the United Kingdom and Nigeria on the right collaboration that would increase trade between both countries and empower Nigerians.Also speaking at the press briefing, Cable explained that the focus of the United Kingdom in terms of the trade relation with Nigeria was not the issue of which country led in the volume of trade, but an assurance of trade growth between both countries.
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