President Muhammadu Buhari has advised investors to look beyond the challenges currently facing the world, focus on the opportunities they present and invest.
He stated this on Thursday at a bilateral business meeting organised by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce and the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment in Madrid, Spain.
The president said Nigeria is open to more collaborations with Spain for investments and that Nigeria has provided some fiscal investment incentives such as three to five years of tax holidays for enterprises, and many others.
“It is currently a challenging time for the global economy. But I have always held the strong conviction that there is no crisis without an accompanying opportunity and solution. Increased collaboration with African nations could well be what Europe needs to mitigate against both current and potential future supply-chain challenges and improve both our economic opportunities,” Buhari said.
Speaking further on the need for collaboration, Buhari added that the meeting is also an opportunity to advance trade relations, especially in the area of oil and gas production.
He also said mechanisms have been put in place to shift the age-long dependence on oil for the sustenance of the country, adding that the focus now is to increase the value chain and exploitation of available abundant solid minerals.
“For quite a number of decades, Spain has been one of Nigeria’s most important trading partners. It is, for example, a major importer of Nigerian crude oil. Nigeria’s exports to Spain stood at $4.8 billion in 2020 whilst Spain’s exports to Nigeria increased from $97.2 million in 1995 to $517 million in 2020. A lot more can be done to increase the volume of trade and today presents a good opportunity to explore how this can be achieved,” Buhari said.
“Since the inception of our administration in 2015, we have concentrated on moving beyond the historical dependence on crude oil for government revenue and foreign exchange inflows. We have successfully driven its diversification and put the economy on the path of sustainable and inclusive growth through an open, rules-based, and market-oriented way of doing business.
“Historically, the focus has been on Nigeria’s oil sector but Nigeria is home to a wide range of other sectors that hold very great potential. We are the largest economy in Africa and our well over 200 million-strong consumer market is home to a range of attractive opportunities in sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, light manufacturing, infrastructure development, and technology.
“Nigeria has a number of other notable mineral resources including coal, gold, bitumen, iron ore, and uranium. However, our current focus is on adding value to our natural resources prior to exportation.
“We are open to widening collaboration with Spain and in order to encourage private capital inflow, we have put together fiscal investment incentives which include the following: three to five years tax holidays for enterprises in what we deem to be pioneer industries; tax-free operations and no restrictions on expatriate quotas in our Free Trade Zones; capital allowances for agriculture, manufacturing, and engineering amongst others.
“Going into partnerships with trusted local and foreign partners who have well-established networks and understand the dynamics of the economy and country is one of the identified keys to success in Nigeria. Today provides a platform for Spanish businesses to connect with credible Nigerian partners. I trust that all present here will build relationships that will translate into increased trade and investment flows between Nigeria and Spain.”
Buhari also used the opportunity to thank the Spanish government for the donation of 4.4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to Nigeria.
On his part, Niyi Adebayo, minister of industry, trade and investment, said the country was committed to increasing its volume of trade with Spain, as it is currently one of Nigeria’s strongest EU trading partners.
