Marc Lucassen, head of delegation, German Industry and Commerce in Nigeria, canvasses for strong bilateral business relations between Germany and Nigeria

By Anayo Ezugwu

THE German Industry and Commerce in Nigeria is seeking to strengthen bilateral trade relations between his country and Nigeria. Marc Lucassen, head of delegation, German Industry and Commerce in Nigeria, said the ties would further cement the long history of 160 years of socio-economic relations between the two countries.

Lucassen, who spoke at the 7th edition of the German-Nigerian Business Forum, GNBF, in Lagos, on the topic: “Leveraging Partnership for Economic Growth”, said socio-economic relationship between both countries improved significantly and today Nigeria and Germany are the largest trade partner in the ECOWAS sub-region and the second largest in the sub-Saharan Africa with more than 3.5 billion Euros balance of trade in 2016.

“We are very much delighted to bring this forum to Lagos, the economic centre of Nigeria and the largest city in Africa. There is a long social economic history between Germany and Nigeria, dating more than 160 years. Most of the German companies currently operating in Nigeria established their businesses many decades ago. Our delegation started operation in 1982.

“And on the cultural side, our great institute started 20 years earlier. The bilateral relations between Nigeria and Germany gained momentum between 1990 and 1999. And with the advent of democracy, there have been visits by presidents, top government officials and business leaders of both countries to strengthen bilateral relationships between Germany and Nigeria as the largest economies in Europe and Africa respectively,” he said.

According to him, in Nigeria, 85 German companies are currently employing over 10,000 direct staff and generating more than 1 million Euros annually. German companies are covering a wide range of sectors including finance, automotive, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, machineries and engineering, infrastructure, energy and technology, as well as education and vocational trainings, just to name a few.

“Based on the sectors and decade of business experience on ground, I therefore take pride in the German efforts through the diversifications of Nigerian economy. Over the years, we have worked with the government to establish a collaborative bilateral relationship across different sectors such as security, agriculture, diplomacy as well as investment in trade,” he said.

Realnews reports that one of such initiatives is the German-Nigeria Business Forum which was established in 2007. The scope has expanded over the years because of the level of participation and sponsorship. We believe that the 7th German-Nigeria Business Forum is in furtherance of previous and existing initiatives to provide excellent opportunities for private enterprises, corporate bodies and government to network and exchange information and most importantly establish new professional contents,” he said.

On his part, Bernlard Schlagheck, German ambassador to Nigeria, said despite challenges facing Nigeria, the country remains the major destination for investors in the sub-Saharan Africa. He said the increasing number of German companies in the country shows that there is more to come to Nigeria in terms of investment from Germany.

“Since I came to Nigeria about 20 months ago, I have been impressed with the entrepreneurial spirit of the people. A strong support for the private sector because the private sector is the future which the young people aspire to be a part of. A lot of Nigerians I encountered want to be an entrepreneur. There is an enormous potential in this country. Huge opportunities and we should in our trade and business relations harness these potentials together with the people of Nigeria.

“Our trade and business relations fit into the right context of our political relationship, which is actually long tried and tested since Nigeria gain independent in 1960”

He said: “It is also good news for Nigeria and other businesses in Nigeria that the recession in the country is over. The renewed economic growth has shown that a lot has been achieved through economic initiative of the government and the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, ERGP, the easy of doing business and great anti-graft policies, for which we must give government credit.

“I’m not saying everything is perfect, a lot remains to be done mostly when it comes to business and investments. Apart from these, there are many other challenges facing this country ranging from health, education, infrastructure and power.”

On her part, Yewande Sadiku, executive secretary and chief executive officer, CEO, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, NIPC, said the country needs to diversify the economy and deal with issues of infrastructure, security and corruption.  She said government must build global competitive economy through the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, ERGP.

Sadiku said the growth of Nigerian economy witnessed in the last one year was as a result of the ERGP. “We have a youthful population and government should leverage on this population to develop the economy. Already, we have an attractive economy but government must develop it to attract investors,” she said.

– Jun. 22, 2018 @ 14:29 GMT |