Okonjo Iweala Urges Nigeria to Increase Participation in Trade
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The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who is in Nigeria for a working visit has urged the country to increase her participation in international trade to boost the economy.
Okonjo Iweala said that agriculture was capable of boosting Nigeria’s share of African trade by about 19 percent.
According to her, Nigeria could use the opportuity of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to increase her share of the world trade, adding that her current 0.33percent shar of world trtade was poor.
Speaking when she visited the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Chief Adeniyi Adebayo and his Budget and National Planning counterpart, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, the WTO DG said 0.33 percent was a small fraction of Nigeria’s potential.
She said that the way forward was to add value to the agricultural products for export trade.
She said, “Nigeria’s share in world trade is 0.33 per cent. This is a very small fraction of what we could do. Our share in African trade is 19 per cent, a little bit higher and below our share of Africa GDP, which is almost a quarter of Africa’s GDP.
“What this means is that we can either look at it negatively or say it is a small portion of what world trade is, or we can turn it around and say it is a glass half full, optimistic side, and say that there is potential for us to do much more. That’s the message I want to convey to the country and Mr. President.
“This means we must step up our action on the economy. We must strive to do better and harder in several ways. The reason we are concerned about that is our youth. Majority of our population are young people who are looking for jobs.”
President Muhammadu Buhari who earlier received her at the Presidential Villa said her past good records both locally and internationally were what gave her the WTO job.
The WTO DG who spoke to newsmen on Nigeria’s current exchange rate said it would not affect the country’s economic diversification.
She also disclosed that some member states had comlained formally about Nigeria’s exchange rate.
She stated that having a strong exchange rate was important, and said the WTO will be meeting the Central Bank Governor where the issues will be discussed.
Okonjo Iweala said that agriculture was capable of boosting Nigeria’s share of African trade by about 19 percent.
According to her, Nigeria could use the opportuity of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to increase her share of the world trade, adding that her current 0.33percent shar of world trtade was poor.
Speaking when she visited the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Chief Adeniyi Adebayo and his Budget and National Planning counterpart, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, the WTO DG said 0.33 percent was a small fraction of Nigeria’s potential.
She said that the way forward was to add value to the agricultural products for export trade.
She said, “Nigeria’s share in world trade is 0.33 per cent. This is a very small fraction of what we could do. Our share in African trade is 19 per cent, a little bit higher and below our share of Africa GDP, which is almost a quarter of Africa’s GDP.
“What this means is that we can either look at it negatively or say it is a small portion of what world trade is, or we can turn it around and say it is a glass half full, optimistic side, and say that there is potential for us to do much more. That’s the message I want to convey to the country and Mr. President.
“This means we must step up our action on the economy. We must strive to do better and harder in several ways. The reason we are concerned about that is our youth. Majority of our population are young people who are looking for jobs.”
President Muhammadu Buhari who earlier received her at the Presidential Villa said her past good records both locally and internationally were what gave her the WTO job.
The WTO DG who spoke to newsmen on Nigeria’s current exchange rate said it would not affect the country’s economic diversification.
She also disclosed that some member states had comlained formally about Nigeria’s exchange rate.
She stated that having a strong exchange rate was important, and said the WTO will be meeting the Central Bank Governor where the issues will be discussed.
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