Irish investors are to expand their frontiers in the Nigerian economy as they plan to inject millions of Euro into some key sectors like aviation, construction, transportation, waste management and agriculture over the next four years.
Simon Conveney, Irish minister of agriculture, who disclosed this to journalists in Lagos, said he had held fruitful discussions with his Nigerian counterparts in the agriculture and transportation ministries, Audu Ogbeh and Rotimi Amaechi, respectively, and, “they seem to me serious minded people.”
According to the Irish’s minister, “Nigeria is possibly the most exciting economy in the world to work, considering the potential for growth and expansion here in terms of resources and population growth.
“By 2050, it is projected that the current population of about 190 million could expand to say about 430 million people. And that pace of growth is going to drive food demand, in terms of consumption pattern, energy, water, transportation, financial services and quality of life issues and so on. And that is very challenging environment to work but it’s also very exciting.”
Conveney, who led a delegation of Irish businessmen to the second Irish trade mission in Nigeria, said over 42 Irish companies with interest in different sectors of the economy had made contacts with the Nigerian enterprise community in what he believed would benefits the economies of both countries.
The Irish minister, who was in the company of Seán Hoy, Ireland’s Ambassador to Nigeria, and Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland, said the trade mission was one of the largest from Ireland to have ever visited Nigeria, and underscored Ireland’s readiness to deepen her presence in Africa’s largest economy.
He noted that the trade mission would provide a foundation on which to build strong economic links with West Africa, especially with Nigeria and Ghana.
Also speaking, Sinnamon emphasised that the trade mission would help Irish companies to maximise business opportunities inherent not only in Nigeria but the sub-region.
“Our ambition is to reach export sales of 600 million Euro in the region by 2018, and we will continue to work with ambitious and capable Irish companies to expand their market share in African countries, exploring and developing lucrative trading relationships that ultimately deliver export-led job creation in Ireland,” he said.
