LAHORE: High Commissioner of Nigeria Mohammed Bello Abioye has said that Nigeria is the most populous and biggest economy in Africa and Look Africa by the government of Pakistan is a good initiative for the enhancement of mutual trade and economic ties.
He was speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry. LCCI President Kashif Anwar presented the address of welcome while Senior Vice President Zafar Mahmood Chaudhry also spoke on the occasion.
The High Commissioner, who was on his farewell visit to LCCI, said that Pakistan is my second home and he will continue to facilitate Pakistani businesses in Nigeria.
He said that we are introducing medium of communication between Pakistani and Nigerian business people, in order to increase trade opportunities, the Nigerian High Commission has eased the visa processing. The HC said that facilitating and fast tracking business activity is what we are working for, and we are trying to encourage investments in Nigeria.
LCCI President Kashif Anwar appreciated High Commissioner for keeping regular interaction with LCCI. He said that we attach a lot of value while talking about trade and economic relations with Nigeria which is one of the largest economies in Africa with GDP touching 500 billion dollars.
Kashif Anwar said that as per trade data taken from State Bank of Pakistan, the volume of bilateral was around $117 million in 2021-22 which came down to $52 million in 2022-23. He said that the main reason of this fall was instant dip in imports from Nigeria which drastically decreased from $50 million to $4 million during that period. In the meantime, the exports from Pakistan to Nigeria also contracted from $67 million to $48 million. These trade trends call for making some serious efforts from private as well as public sectors from both the countries.
The LCCI President said that Pakistan’s main exports to Nigeria consist of Pharmaceutical products, Tractors & parts and some textile products etc. On the other hand, Pakistan imports from Nigeria include petroleum gas, cotton and resins etc.
He added that the total global imports of Nigeria are above $60 Billion while the total exports of Nigeria are above $63 Billion. There is considerable potential for both countries to take the trade volume to at least $1 billion.
He said that Nigeria imports wheat (worth $2260 million), sanitary fittings (worth $973 million), sugar (worth $844 million), medicaments (worth $828 million) and frozen fish (worth $678 million). Pakistan has great potential of exporting all these items to Nigeria at much competitive prices.
The LCCI President said that Pakistan and Nigeria can explore opportunities for expanding trade volume. Pakistan is known for its value added textile, rice, leather products, sports goods, carpets and surgical instruments etc., which can be exported to Nigeria. There is also a tremendous room for cooperation between two countries in energy sector.
He said that Pakistan has a thriving IT industry, and Nigeria is rapidly developing its technology sector. Collaboration in information technology, software development, and services can create opportunities for knowledge transfer, joint projects, and software exports. He said that Pakistani IT companies can offer their expertise to Nigerian counterparts, and Nigerian companies can outsource IT services to Pakistani firms. Tourism is another sector where there is immense potential for Joint Ventures.
Kashif Anwar said that strengthening financial cooperation and establishing banking channels can facilitate trade and investment. Encouraging banking and financial institutions from both countries to establish branches or correspondent relationships can facilitate trade finance, investment flows, and easier remittances between Pakistan and Nigeria. He said that repatriation of profit is easy for the foreign investors.
He said that regular high-level meet-ups, business delegations, and the establishment of a joint economic commission can facilitate discussions, identify opportunities, and address obstacles to bilateral trade and investment. Similarly, we should also make the best use of Income Tax Treaty signed between Pakistan and Nigeria in 1989 for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital gains.
He also mentioned about the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) established by the Government of Pakistan to primarily focus on expediting new investments in five areas including Defence, Agriculture, Minerals, Information Technology / Telecommunication and Energy. We hope that you will apprise the investors in Nigeria about SIFC and encourage them to invest in Pakistan in these sectors through Joint Ventures. In addition to that the Government of Punjab is making all out efforts to improve doing business in the province by facilitating international and national investors through one window operation.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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