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Towards strengthening trade and economic ties with Nigeria, over 30 Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) from Egypt are in Nigeria to exploit opportunities for the mutual benefits of the two countries.
Leading the group, the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Expatriates Badr Abdel Aaty, met with Nigeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar in Abuja on Monday.
Among the areas the delegation is interested in, according to Abdel Aaty, are agriculture, pharmaceuticals, industry, energy, mineral, oil and gas.
Egypt, he said, is ready to do mutually beneficial businesses with Nigeria.
He said: “For me, I’m heading a big delegation. We have more than 30 giant companies in Egypt, in different sectors, in agriculture, in pharmaceuticals, in industry, in energy, in mineral, oil and gas, you name it.
"They are here because there are a lot of opportunities, a conducive environment for investment and we are committed to come, to invest, to do business here based on a win-win situation.”
Lamenting the present low level of trade volume between the two countries, he said that the visit was part of efforts to boost Egypt-Nigeria bilateral relations.
The Egyptian Minister said “The current trade volume between our two countries does not meet or correspond with the weight of two giants in Africa, Nigeria and Egypt.
“This is very minimal. We have to double and even triple the trade volume in order to match the weight of the two countries.
"And we are fully committed, we have the political will from Nigeria, from Egypt to do and I’m fully committed to work with my dear brother Minister Yusuf to hopefully double and triple the trade volume in the near future.” he added
Continuing, he said “Our political relationship is more than excellent, but we have to do more on economic trade and investment based on a win-win situation.
"Nigeria is the largest country in Africa. Nigeria is the gateway to Africa, not only to the west and central of Africa, but to all Africa.
“That’s why, as my brother Youssef mentioned, I’m starting my tour from here, from Abuja, in recognition of the strategic status of this great country. The two leaders met before in Rio de Janeiro on the side of the G20 meeting and they agreed to elevate our relationship into a comprehensive and strategic partnership and this is our task as foreign ministers to do more and to enhance our cooperation.”
Amb Tuggar disclosed that there are lots of areas of interest that the two countries could explore.
According to him, the Egyptian delegation will also be attending the Jigawa State business Forum.
“They have one of the largest players that has successfully reclaimed record amounts of land, turned desert into fertile land that is producing food in Egypt.
"They have come here, they are interested in investing and participating in Nigeria.
"Of course, there are some of the other players, for instance, the power and energy sector, electricity and swede, the likes of them are already here.
“They are looking at opportunities in gas, in the mineral sector etc."
He said that both countries are going to establish a joint commission so that all of "these initiatives, including the chamber of commerce that we have, would be subsumed under that so that we can drive it faster,”