German leader opens 4th business forum in Nigeria

German leader opens 4th business forum in Nigeria

German Chancellor, Angela Merkel will declare open the 4th German-Nigerian Business Forum slated for July 14th and July 15th in Abuja  during her one-day visit to the country.

Merkel will be the first chancellor to visit Nigeria since 1976 after Chancellor Helmut Schmidt.

 She is expected to hold bilateral talks with President Goodluck Jonathan and have audience with ECOWAS President, Mr Victor Gbeho.

Increasing trade relation

A delegate of the German-Nigerian Business Association, Mr Andre Ronne,  stated that trade between both countries was on the increase with the current volume put at over 2.5 billion euros, against two billion euros in 2009.

He stated that the figures represent export in Nigeria’s crude oil, machineries, equipment and chemicals from his country.

He attributed the current high prices of oil as the reason for the increased trade, while the global economic crisis was responsible for the low volume of trade recorded previously.

Ronne said that the trade volume would further improve with the diversification of the Nigerian economy to include other sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture.

Products’ standardisation

On his own, a Nigerian and a member of German-Nigerian Business Association, Mr Jaiye Doherty said the association was working with the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) to create awareness on standardization of goods and products to attract more patronage in the German market.

According to him: “the response by Nigerian businessmen on German trade is positive with increased participation in the annual forum this year’s forum would focus on banking and finance, alternate energy , infrastructure and consumer goods.”

Shakira