German Chancellor, Merkel, to visit Nigeria

THE bilateral trade volume in import and export between Nigeria and its German counterpart has been put at N678 billion (€3 billion) in 2011.

Besides, the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, will be in Nigeria on a state visit to President Goodluck Jonathan and to kick off the German-Nigerian Business Forum holding from July 14 to 15 at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.

Speaking at a media briefing to announce the fourth German-Nigerian Business Forum yesterday in Lagos, Delegate, German Industry and Commerce in Nigeria, Andre Ronne, said while Nigeria’s export to Germany was about €2 billion, Germany’s export to Nigeria stood at €1 billion.

Ronne said Germany’s major export to Nigeria were machinery, vehicles spare parts, chemicals and electrical goods, while it imported oil and gas from Nigeria.

He disclosed that Nigeria remained Germany’s second most important trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa, after South Africa.

According to Ronne, the two countries have a cordial relationship and had benefited from each other over the years.

Speaking also at the event, Consulate-General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Nigeria, Mr. Walter von den Driesch, stated that the proposed visit by Merkel underlined the importance of the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

According to him, this is the first visit of a German Head of State to Nigeria since 1976 when Helmut Heinrich Schmidt visited the country.

He stated: “I believe the visit of the Chancellor is an outcome of success of the recent general elections adjudged to be free and fair. This implies that Nigeria is beginning to get a more positive rating among European countries and the rest of the world. Nigeria is, no doubt, an economic power.”

Also, Chief Operating Officer, Nigerian-German Business Association, Jaiye Doherty, disclosed that the results from the past two editions of German-Nigerian Business Forum had indicated a rise in the volume of businesses and investments across the two divide.

Expressing confidence that this year’s edition in Nigeria would be a success, Doherty said there were enough grounds for mutual business cooperation between Nigeria and Germany.

He stated: “Germany is a reliable partner. What that means is that it brings high quality products into the country. It also means that it sticks to agreement or contract. Now, it is clear that German companies are interested in increasing their business activities in the country.

“It (the business forum) is aimed at promoting German-Nigerian business relationship with focus on the key sectors both countries have interest in. For instance, oil and gas is a critical area, even though German companies are not primarily involved in the sector. Telecommunications, banking and energy are some of the other key areas we will also examine.”

-Guardian

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