Nigeria, Ukraine Move To Strengthen Ties

Nigeria and Ukraine have pledged to work towards expansion of existing bilateral relations between the two countries, especially, in the areas of oil, gas and metallurgy.

The Ukrainian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Oleg Skoropad, stated this   during a courtesy visit to the Minister of State, Energy (Petroleum), Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, in Abuja Nigeria’s capital.  

He said that following the major re-organisation being embarked upon in the oil and gas sector by the Nigerian authorities, Ukraine was interested in participating in the sector, which he said had a big potential in realising its objectives.

According to the envoy,Ukraine, though a relatively smaller country had historically being playing significant roles in the gas sector, even during the Soviet Union era.

He was quoted as saying that, Ukraine had a small petroleum exploration company called Ukurnafta, which is actually the number one taxpayer to the Ukrainian economy.

"But despite the fact that the company is very small, we hope that in the next few years it would expand its business scope to accommodate other countries' interests. But the important thing is that the company is very experienced in some areas, such as drilling, and it has its own refinery and other services," he said.

Assurances

Responding, Ajumogobia lauded the role Ukraine plays in metallurgical development, citing its role in the development of the Ajaokuta Steel Company.

Stressing the need for strong economic and cultural relations between the two countries, the minister said this was necessary to enable Nigeria tap from the technological ingenuity of the Ukrainians.

Ajumogobia urged the Federal Government, through the Foreign Affairs Ministry, to revive the bilateral agreements between the two countries that would eventually lead to exchange in the areas of education, and law.

He recalled that there was an attempt in the past to establish a Ukrainian-Nigerian joint commission, which, if pursued, would have enhanced the economic and other forms of relations with the two countries, adding that it was time those initiatives were revived.

His words: "at the moment, we have fairly limited trade, spanning just 250 million dollars in bilateral trade. We should expand such trade portfolio. In the petroleum sector, we are reforming the industry and opening it up, especially in the upstream and downstream sectors, to foreign investors.

"At the moment, our refining capacity is limited to less than 45 per cent to our domestic consumption, so there is a renewed opportunity in that aspect not just within Nigeria, but outside the sub-region. We have three refineries, which would soon be brought to optimum production. Ajumogobia explained

The level of trade between the two countries currently stands at 250 million dollars.

Officials of the two countries have admitted that the development was not good enough for the  economic growth of the two countries.

 

NP/Qasim