[Herald Interview] Nigerian President hopes to boost trade and investments with Korea

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari arrives in Seoul to attend World Bio Summit in Seoul on Monday. (Nigerian Embassy in Seoul)

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari expressed hopes for more trade and investment from Korea, stressing the Nigerian government’s recent policies to encourage foreign investment in an exclusive written interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul.

"Our government has improved the ease of doing business in our country, and we have created a 'one stop shop' at the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission. We have also reinvigorated the commission with all the resources needed to attract FDI into our country," Buhari said.

The "one stop shop" is a multi-agency office that provides support for businesses.

Nigeria ranked 131st among 190 countries in the ease of doing business index in 2019, jumping 15 places from the previous year.

Buhari also cited land and tax incentives offered to potential investors as some of the measures his government has introduced to make Nigeria a more attractive business and investment destination for foreign entities.

The Nigerian president was in Seoul to attend the World Bio Summit 2022 and for summit talks with President Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday. Ahead of his visit, the Nigerian Embassy to South Korea hosted the Nigeria-Korea Business Forum, highlighting the country's commitment to sustainable development and partnership with Seoul.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari received by Nigerian Ambassador to Korea Ali Magashi in Korea on Monday. (Nigerian Embassy in Seoul)

At the forum, Nigeria highlighted a number of sectors as areas of potential cooperation including oil and gas, agriculture and agro-processing, manufacturing and ICT, tourism culture, and the creative industry.

Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission CEO Saratu A. Umar introduced key sectors for potential partnerships with Nigeria to achieve sustainable development and prospects for business opportunities in Nigeria at the forum.

According to Buhari, Nigeria is discussing ways to strengthen bilateral relations and draw direct Korean investment, especially in Nigeria’s gas reserves, during the bilateral summit with President Yoon Seok-yeol.

Discussing his key agenda during the visit, the Nigerian president emphasized improving the existing Nigeria-Korea ties, increasing the volume of trade and Korean investments in Nigeria, and strengthening social and cultural exchanges.

Nigeria-Korea bilateral trade volume hit over $1.5 billion as of June 2022 making Nigeria South Korea’s largest trading partner on the African continent, according to the Nigerian Embassy in Seoul.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari (sixth from left) and Nigerian Ambassador to Korea Ali Magashi(fiifth from left) meet Korean CEOs at Lotte Hotel, Seoul on Wednesday. (Nigerian Embassy in Seoul)

According to the embassy, orders received by Korean construction companies reached $15 billion in 2020, making Nigeria the biggest construction market for South Korean companies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Korean firms are building liquefied natural gas plants, crude oil transportation and storage facilities in Nigeria, the embassy said, pointing out that Korea’s trade with Africa, a continent with a population of over 1 billion people, still accounts for less than 2 percent of South Korea’s overall global trade.

At the summit meeting held in the late afternoon, Yoon said that Korea and Nigeria have maintained friendly ties, and said that his administration will work to further develop bilateral relations.

"Since establishing diplomatic ties, Nigeria has developed cooperative relations in diverse areas for 42 years," Yoon said going into the meeting.

"I am certain that Nigeria's economic and cultural capacities will contribute to bilateral cooperation and exchange, and our government will make active efforts," he added.

By Sanjay Kumar(sanjaykumar@heraldcorp.com)