PARIS OLYMPIC GAMES
As part of the gains of President Bola Tinubu’s participation in the 18th G-20 Summit in India, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has pledged his country’s readiness to invest in Nigeria’s economy.
Persecondnews recalls that both leaders had met at the G20 Summit in India with a follow up visit by the German Chancellor who touched down in Abuja on Sunday.
It is to strengthen bilateral relations with Africa’s largest economy.
Receiving the German Chancellor, President Bola Tinubu assured him that his administration is head-strong” in resolving and transforming the “crawling economy” of the country.
Nigeria, he said, is still struggling to record giant economic strides, but added that his government had been distracted by the election contests in court.
Tinubu said: ‘You are very welcome with your delegation to partner with us in terms of education, power, mineral resources and all the other opportunities
“Nigeria is still crawling, but we are determined to change the narrative and bring about a transformative government in the country.”
Tinubu urged Scholz to support Nigeria and the Sahel region of Africa in the fight against insecurity and terrorism in other to meet the “expectations of an African dream.”
He added: “We are fighting terrorism and that is improving. We still need support very much in that area. And for us to be able to sustain democracy, the rule of law and freedom for our people, we need to fight for democracy.
“And democracy must win at all times for us to meet the expectation of an African dream. That is why your visit this time around is more than necessary and welcome. I hope you will enjoy yourself.
“You would have noticed, that I don’t need to go about the various problems happening in the Sahel region of Africa. You have seen and noticed the coup in Guinea and recently in the Niger Republic.
“We have people diplomatically managing the situation. The need for you to help in that of security will be emphasised and we will continue to require your knowledge. We thank you for your past contributions, particularly police, and law enforcement training. We need more help.”
Tinubu assured that the country is ready to partner “with Germany as the largest economy in Europe”, adding that Nigeria has the right environment to support foreign investments. And the largest economy in Africa is Nigeria, you know that.
“We are blessed with good environment, weather and mineral resources. Our hydrocarbon industry is still fledging environmentally while we are moving towards the transition energy source.
“I know Germany has advanced a lot in protecting the environment and modernising energy to meet the 21st century needs both of the world and Europe in particular,” Tinubu said.
On his part, Scholz pointed out that ”
Nigeria has the biggest gas supply in Africa and that his country is “eyeing importing natural gas from Nigeria.”
“I can assure you that we will continue our support and our cooperation also in this field. One of the main aspects for cooperation will be developing the economy and using the economic opportunities of your country.
“As you already said, there are a lot of chances not just from gas and oil, which is traditionally linked to your country, but there’s a lot of room for improvement and for better using the capacities of your country.
“But also for going into investments for the future, which is about hydrogen and all the things that are important for an economy that is able to produce all the necessary goods for the people without harming the environment.
“It is also important that we use the way of developing your economy in the fields of the minerals you have. I think that the investments into this structure must be easy, but also beneficial for your country,” the visiting chancellor also said.
Persecondnews reports that Nigeria is Germany’s second-largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa with direct German investments in Nigeria amounting to £150 million ($158 million) in 2021.
Germany’s capital importation into Nigeria stood at $15.38 million in 2016. This later sky rocketed to $19.81 million in 2017 but dwindled the following year to $13.347 million.
Germany’s investments in Nigeria grew in 2019, at the time, $18.63 million. But following the outbreak of the pandemic, capital importation from the country shrinked to $12. 87 million in 2020.
However, in 2021, a combination of the first ($22.94 million), second ($1.36 million) and third ($0.11 million) quarters saw Germany recording its highest investment in Nigeria till date at $24.4 million.
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