LAHORE: High Commissioner of Nigeria Abioye Muhammed Bello said on Monday that huge untapped potential in the sectors of pharmaceutical, information technology, construction and textile of the two countries could be explored through joint ventures (JVs).
He was talking to the business community here at Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) where LCCI President Mian Tariq Misbah, Vice President Tahir Manzoor Chaudhry, Nigerian Consular Oluwatoyin Orukpe and Minister Mohammed Goni also spoke.
The high commissioner said that the Nigerian High Commission would extend the best cooperation to the private sector of Pakistan for joint ventures with their Nigerian counterparts. He said, “We should move forward to boost mutual trade and economic ties, besides establishing more banking channels to smooth bilateral trade.
He said that dissemination of trade related information was crucial for strengthening mutual trade relations. He said that both countries should exchange lists of sector-specific businesspeople.
“Nigeria and Pakistan have a lot of commonalities. The two countries enjoy unique geographical locations which are strategic in their respective continents, ” he added.
LCCI President Mian Tariq Misbah said that Nigeria and Pakistan maintain a close relationship and both were key members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Commonwealth. He said that the Lahore Chamber had been voicing to explore the untapped trade and economic potential of African Continent and the country of Nigeria holds key position in this connection, being the largest economy in Africa.
About bilateral trade between Pakistan and Nigeria, the LCCI president said that the volume had dropped from $307 million in 2019 to $146 million in 2020. Pakistan’s imports from Nigeria fell from $280 million in 2019 to $116 million in 2020, while our exports to Nigeria increased from $27 million to $30 million in the same period.
“In our view, there is considerable potential for both countries to take the trade volume to at least above one billion dollars in the short run by enhancing trade and economic cooperation in the fields of pharmaceuticals, light engineering products, surgical instruments, automotive parts, sports goods and value-added textiles etc., ” Mian Tariq Misbah said, adding that besides these sectors, there were also opportunities for both countries to enter into joint ventures in the field of oil, gas, agriculture technology and renewable energy.
He said that once the COVID-19 pandemic situation improves further, there should be regular exchange of business delegations.