Business Post Contributor
By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel
Belgium has expressed its readiness to expand bilateral ties with the Lagos State Government in order to further explore the several investment opportunities available in the commercial capital of Nigeria.
The Ambassador of Belgium to Nigeria, Mr Daniel Bertrand, said this when he visited the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Sam Egube, at his office at Alausa, Ikeja, the state capital state.
The expansion of investments in Lagos by Belgian entrepreneurs, according to the envoy, will bring about a major economic boost in the state.
Mr Bertrand, while speaking, said that the purpose of his visit was to get acquainted with Lagos and the various opportunities which will be presented to a delegation of Belgian business entrepreneurs.
He said that despite the already active Belgian business community in Nigeria, there are more of their investors who are interested in doing business in the State.
“One of the priorities of my term is to strengthen our bilateral ties in Nigeria, especially in the economic and commercial fields. It has a huge potential as there are some very active Belgian companies in Nigeria, like Nigerite.
“But I think we can be far more productive than we are now and that is why we are going to welcome in the next few months a delegation of business entrepreneurs coming to Nigeria to see what they can do here, as they are very interested in the Nigerian market and they will visit Abuja and Lagos soon,” he said.
He further disclosed that the Belgian delegation would soon be in Lagos to explore investment opportunities in the Nigerian market.
On his part, Mr Egube said that the Babajide Sanwo-Olu led government was committed to improving the economy through effective partnership and collaboration on Investment opportunities.
He said, “We are pleased to have you in Lagos, we believe that effective partnerships form the bedrock of development and, in line with the T.H.E.M.E.S. Agenda, Mr Governor believes that we must have several levels of engagement and partnerships to make things work.
“So, one of the things we strive to do is to ensure that those partnerships go beyond talk into real definitive actions, and as a result of this, we welcome you with a lot of excitement.”
The Commissioner added that the state government is working very closely with the federal government, other state governments, and its developmental partners.
“We are restructuring our development partnership department here in the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget to make it more proactive in partnering with others to solve mutual problems. We will like to co-create with our development partners,” Mr Egube said.
Also present at the meeting were the Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Belgium in Nigeria, Mr Stef Commers, as well as the Special Adviser to the Governor on Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Adebayo Sodade.
Others included the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, Mrs Abiola Liadi, and the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Budget, Mr Lekan Balogun.
