Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria and the Netherlands have reiterated commitments to harmonise trade and investment between both countries.
Mrs Evelyn Ngige, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, said this at a roundtable negotiation on the investment promotion and protection agreement between Nigeria and the European country in Abuja on Wednesday.
The Permanent Secretary said that this step would also boost economic activities and strengthen investors’ confidence for sustainable economic development.
Mrs Ngige, represented by the Director of the Investment Promotion Department in the Ministry, Mrs Gertrude Orji, expressed hopes that the collaboration would positively impact the economies of both countries, noting that the essence of the meeting was to deliberate on the draft models, taking into consideration the policy directions of both countries.
Mrs Ngige said that beyond signing the agreement, it was also important for both countries to monitor the implementation and execution of the agreement.
Earlier, the Chief Negotiator on Investment Promotion of the Netherlands, Mr Robert Dool, said the meeting aimed to facilitate economic relations between both countries.
He said his country appreciated the relationship with the Nigerian government, which he described as one of the pillars of socio-economic development, economic cooperation and integration.
“This explains why the Netherlands has taken the initiative to look at their investment promotion in Nigeria to see how they can make this agreement more reflective in the world we live in today.
“This has induced a critical review of the bilateral agreement and, in a modernised way, acts in promoting and protecting international and social economic development,” he said.
Mr Dool said the negotiating team had engaged in the modernisation of the two countries’ economic relations and the promotion of trade which was originally signed in 1992.
He said that between 1992 and 2023, the world had evolved into a different place.
The Director, Legal, Nigerian Investment Promotion Council, Mrs Patience Okala, the lead negotiator on the Nigerian side, emphasised the need to preserve the Nigeria policies on investment.
According to her, dispute prevention for investors is also paramount, urging both countries to expand the investment dimension of their treaties as part of efforts to review trade between Nigeria and Netherlands so as to have a sustainable policy.
