Nigeria: Global leaders gather as Economic Summit begins

Nigeria: Global leaders gather as Economic Summit begins

Making Nigeria the investor destination of choice is the major issue as public and private sector leaders from around the world gather in Abuja Nigeria’s capital on Thursday to kick-off the 17th Nigerian Economic Summit.

The Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, is expected to champion the drive for investments in the different sectors of the country’s economy during a session tagged ‘Presidential Dialogue with Global CEOs’.

Director-General of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mr. Frank Nweke Jr. told reports that the theme of this year’s summit, ‘Attracting Foreign Direct Investment through Global Partnerships’, “is the heart of President Jonathan’s transformation agenda and vision to make Nigeria one of the 20 largest economies in the world by 2020.”

Activities

Nweke said “President Jonathan will engage in the traditional duties of opening the summit on November 10, touring the exhibition stands, receiving the summit communiqué and presiding over the closing on Saturday, November 12”.

Report says President Jonathan will take the lead in a dialogue with a group of global company chiefs who will have an open conversation. The conversation will give the President an opportunity to present Nigeria’s case as an attractive destination for FDI, while the corporate heads share their thoughts and experiences as seasoned institutional investors.

Stakeholders

Joining the Nigerian President in this session is a group of top-flight industrialists representing diverse industries and countries.

 The panellists include: Executive Vice-President, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), World Bank, Izumi Kobayashi; CEO, Procter & Gamble, Manoj Kumar; and CEO of Symbion Power, Paul Hinks.

Others are the CEO of MTN, Sifiso Dabengwa; Executive Vice-President, Shell Upstream International, Maarten Wetselaar; President, GE Africa, Jay Ireland and Nigeria’s own Aliko Dangote, President, Dangote Industries Ltd.

Objective

The objective of the Presidential Dialogue is to give the Nigerian President direct insight into what global investors seek and the strategies that the public and private sector can engage to mitigate the constraints which hold back FDI.

Nweke Jr. said “this platform will provide a wonderful opportunity to deepen confidence in Nigeria as an investment destination and to build greater collaboration between Nigeria and the purveyors of global capital.”

NP/Waziri/Williams