BY Victoria Ojeme
ABUJA — Nigeria in 2012 recorded a trade surplus of 33 billion Euros with the European Union, EU, in overall trade volume of 44.4 billion Euros.
Similarly, out-going Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, Deng Boqing, said weekend that the trade volume between Nigeria and China was $13 billion in 2013.
The trade surplus with the EU resulted from EU’s export to the country which stood at 11.4 billion Euros.
The European Union, Managing Director for Africa, Dr. Nicholas Westcott, who disclosed the volume of trade between both parties in Abuja last weekend, also lamented the high level poverty in the country and described Nigeria as an important EU trading and development partner.
“The European Union imported 33 billion Euros of goods from Nigeria in 2012 and the same year we exported 11.4 billion Euros of goods to Nigeria. This is a big relationship,” he said.
The EU envoy further spoke of a long term EU investment plan worth 500 million Euros in Nigeria. She added: “We also have the biggest stock of investment in Nigeria and European investors are still keen to come here and invest in the country.
“We also remain the significant development partner and have just agreed that over the next seven years, we will contribute over 500 million Euros in developing systems to Nigeria which runs from 2014 to 2020.
“Nigeria is one of the Africa most important countries. It has its dynamic economic but it too, like European countries I come from, it faces significant challenges and we want to be a valued partner of Nigeria in all these areas as well.
“We are here to find answers, to find solutions to some of these challenges. Example there is a challenge of unemployment in this country where young people don’t have work, gainful work to do.
“It is one of the areas the European investors will be keen to come and provide assistance, for example in agricultural sector to support agricultural processing that will create jobs to a number of people, particularly in the poorer areas of the country.
“We have a commitment to help reduce poverty in Nigeria. The rate of poverty is too high and, therefore, our development programmes will be directed particularly to tackling some of the the problems bringing poverty in the north of the country. And that will be a big focus for our development programme, working very closely with Nigerian organisations and the Nigerian government.
Meanwhile, trade volume between Nigeria and China last year hit $13 billion, according to out-going Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, Deng Boqing.
has said that the trade volume between Nigeria and China last year was to $13 billion.
He said: “Last year trade volume was almost double of that of four years ago according to statistic trade value between the two countries is almost $13 billion .
“If we discuss the detail of trade volume we will find out that more goods import from China to Nigeria, we are hoping that the trade in oil and gas will also increase, we are aware that more than 30 percent of Nigeria oil product especially crude oil export to America and only one percent is been export to China.
“We are also increasing agricultural products and some Nigerians industrial product, so that is why we encourage the Chinese companies to do their business especially establishing factories in Nigeria in other to increase jobs Opportunities
“For Nigerians, and industrialize products for Nigerians and for the rest of the continent even for the China, so it will be very important if they’re is increase in trade in oil.”
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