Nigeria a big market for Pakistani textiles, says Dauda

Nigeria, with a large population of 165 million people, is a big market for Pakistani textile products, High Commissioner of Nigeria Dauda Danladi said on Wednesday.
He said this during a visit to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) along with Nigerian Deputy High Commissioner and attachés.
The envoy said his visit to KCCI was aimed at interacting with the city’s business and industrial community and to make a presentation on Nigeria’s investment potential in the areas of oil and gas, agriculture and solid minerals.
He said Nigerian president, in the recent D-8 Summit in Islamabad, had attached great importance to boost economic interaction with Pakistan and desired to enhance bilateral trade to $ 1 billion by the end of 2013.
The high commissioner said Nigeria was amongst Africa’s 10 largest economies contributing 77 percent of its GDP.
He informed that the present reserves of Nigerian oil were 36 billion barrels and natural gas reserves were 184 trillion cubic feet. Daily production of Nigeria’s crude oil was 2.5 million barrel.
“Hence, Pakistani investors can get the benefit of profitable investment in the oil and gas sectors and allied industries,” he said. Nigerian Government had created four free zones territories Onne, Warri, Lagos and Calabar where incentives offered 100 percent on import and export exemptions, exemption of commercial levies, repatriation of capital and profits and company ownership. Lease was available from 5-21 years and there were no corporate and withholding taxes, he added. The high commissioner informed that the Nigerian agriculture sector was also open to private sector for large scale commercial farming, land and fresh water was available in abundance.
The opportunities were available in crops, dairy, livestock, fisheries, rice, cassava and bio-fuel. Nigeria also needed agricultural machinery like tractors. He also highlighted cooperation in the areas of textiles, pharmaceuticals industries and solid minerals like coal, bitumen, iron ore, limestone, zinc etc. and the government was offering conducive investment climate.
KCIC President Haroon Agar said immense opportunities of commercial and economic cooperation existed between Pakistan and Nigeria.
There was a keen interest on both sides to develop and expand trade and economic cooperation. “A strategy should be evolved by the two countries to help strengthen bilateral trade relations,” he added. Pakistan is in a position to offer consultancy services to Nigeria for the establishment of sugar, cement, fertilizer, and petroleum refining plants and engineering goods industry, Agar said.