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Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Federal Government has called for increased trading relationship between Nigeria and Ukraine, currently standing at $93.3 million as at November 2017, representing an airline of 4 per cent compared to the 2016 figures.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, who made the call Thursday during the Nigeria-Ukraine Trade and Investment roundtable meeting in Abuja, expressed hope that with the visit of the Ukrainian delegation, the trade volume between the two countries would increase.
“The visit came at a time Nigeria is pursuing economic growth that will aid its vision of being among top 20 economies in the world. As at November last year, trade volume between Nigeria and Ukraine was $93.3 million, which is a decrease by 4 per cent in 2016. With your visit, we hope the volume of trade would increase in 2018,” he said.
Mustapha is also seeking partnership with Ukraine on how to develop Nigeria’s waterways. According to him, Nigeria must develop its inland waterways to reduce traffic on the roads.
He added: “Nigeria has 10,000 kilometers waterways and 4,000 are navigable and I believe if fully developed, can take away pressure from our roads as bulk of our cargo can go on our waterways.”
For her part, the Trade Representative of Ukraine, Deputy Minister for Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine, Natalia Mykolska, said Nigeria was a long standing friend of Ukraine, noting that Nigerian students in Ukraine are the best ambassadors for both countries.
According to her, “Nigeria is a strategic partner. We believe trade is not a one way street. We need to think of import, export and joint cooperation.
