Promoting Vietnam-Nigeria Cooperation in Depth and Effectiveness

4:29:49 PM | 12/16/2022

With the potential and market size, over 300 million people, of the two countries, Vietnam and Nigeria need to further improve the efficiency of economic cooperation commensurate with good political relations, as well as to meet the great needs of the two markets.

At a recent meeting with the Vietnamese business community in Hanoi, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Yemi Osinbajo expressed a deep impression of Vietnam's achievements in socio-economic development in recent years. At the same time, he affirmed that Nigeria always attaches importance to the good and growing friendship between the two countries.

In the coming time, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo of Nigeria wished to expand and promote relations with Vietnam in economics, trade and investment, in which cooperation in agriculture will be the focus. The Vice President suggested the two sides work closely to promote the multifaceted cooperation between the two countries in depth, substance and effectiveness through packages of measures such as enhancing delegation exchanges and contacts to strengthen mutual understanding, trust and open up more opportunities for cooperation in areas where the countries have complementary strengths.

Currently, the Nigerian market is witnessing strong growth, in which the private sector also has many breakthroughs, especially in agriculture and industry. With the advantage of young human resources, the Nigerian government is trying to create more favorable conditions to strongly attract foreign investors, including Vietnam, to invest in Nigeria, the Vice President said.

Besides, Nigeria also wished to cooperate and exchange experiences with Vietnam in such fields as digital economy, energy industry development, electric vehicles and solar energy. The Vice President affirmed that he will make every effort to further promote investment cooperation between the two countries. Alongside this, through the Nigerian market, Vietnamese businesses can further penetrate the large African market.

Assessing the potential for cooperation between the two sides, Mr. Le Minh Hoan, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam (MARD), affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to and wishes to promote multifaceted cooperation with Nigeria.

Minister Le Minh Hoan affirmed that the Vietnamese Government is always committed to supporting the business communities of the two countries; creating all favorable conditions for foreign investors, including Nigerian investors, to invest and do business effectively and sustainably in Vietnam. In particular, with the attention of the governments of the two countries, the support of relevant agencies and the efforts and initiatives of the business communities of the two sides, the Minister expressed his confidence that the relationship between Vietnam and Nigeria will constantly develop and become increasingly substantial in the future.

In order to realize the economic cooperation commitments of the two countries' senior leaders, Minister Le Minh Hoan said that Vietnamese and Nigerian businesses will be the pioneering force. The Minister encouraged cooperation not only between large enterprises but also small and medium-sized enterprises, which are the mainstays of developing economies such as Vietnam and Nigeria. In addition, it is necessary to strengthen the connection between enterprises of the two countries in value chains, regional and international supply chains, he added.

According to the Minister, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Nigeria-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry will maximize their roles to facilitate businesses of the two countries to connect, cooperate and invest.

Along with bilateral cooperation, the Minister suggested the two sides coordinate in mobilizing financial resources and technical support from developed countries and international financial institutions to implement investment cooperation projects in the form of tripartite or quadrilateral model, especially in the fields of agriculture, projects to promote green growth, sustainability and responses to climate change.

Mr. Pham Tan Cong, VCCI President, assessed that Vietnamese enterprises still have plenty of room to boost exports to Nigeria. Specifically, in addition to Nigeria’s 200 million consumer market, Vietnam's exports can also access the markets of countries across the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) of which Nigeria is a member, as regulations and standards for imported products between markets are quite similar.

VCCI President Pham Tan Cong also said that the room for increasing Nigeria's export turnover to Vietnam is still large, with a population of nearly 100 million and rapid economic growth, with GDP growth this year expected at about 8%. Vietnam is also located in a favorable geographic position in the dynamic Asia-Pacific region, serving as a gateway for countries like Nigeria to access China's market of 1.45 billion people and the ASEAN region’s 684 million people.

VCCI President Pham Tan Cong emphasized that the interest and determination of the leaders of the two governments, the business community, and the cooperation between Vietnam and Nigeria will increasingly develop to new heights in the coming time, on par with the potential of the two countries.

“VCCI is willing to support Nigerian and Vietnamese businesses in business expansion and investment,” said Mr. Pham Tan Cong. In the coming time, businesses of the two countries need to continue to strengthen information exchange, seek cooperation opportunities, especially in a number of strong products such as agricultural and aquatic products, textiles and garments, consumer goods and electronics from Vietnam, or some agricultural and forestry products from Nigeria. In addition, the President of VCCI also suggested that Vietnamese businesses research investment opportunities in Nigeria, especially in the fields of agriculture, information technology, telecommunications and logistics.

Since officially establishing diplomatic relations in 1976, Vietnam and Nigeria have become each other's sincere, reliable friends and increasingly important cooperation partners. The cooperative relationship between the two countries has always been nurtured by generations of leaders and people of the two countries. In particular, from 2019 until now, even in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two countries have actively promoted the exchange of delegations and high-level contacts with the highest frequency in the history of bilateral relations.

The results of economic cooperation between Vietnam and Nigeria have been very encouraging. The two-way trade turnover exceeded US$500 million, making Nigeria one of the leading trading partners of Vietnam in Africa. Regarding investment, Nigeria also has 39 investment projects in Vietnam with a total capital of US$3.77 million. This is an important foundation for promoting business cooperation and investment between businesses of the two countries in the coming time.

By Vietnam Business Forum