The governments of Nigeria and Canada commenced moves to revive a stalled bilateral agreement between both countries during a courtesy visit of the new Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Philip Baker, to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, in Abuja last week.
Baker said Canada is ready to collaborate with Nigeria in key areas like mining and aviation in which his country is well developed.
He commended the minister on the country’s efforts and achievements on the ease of doing business and on the economy.
Nigerian
He said the task before him is to increase trade between the two countries as a means of building future relationships. Welcoming the High Commissioner, Enelamah said he believed that his African experience will be useful during his work in Nigeria. He appreciated the relationship between the two countries and said they must make it count.
“We will collaborate with you, we will work with you,†the minister assured.
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Earlier, the High Commissioner had raised the issue of the stalled bilateral treaty and called for a resolution.
A Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPPA) was signed by Nigeria and Canada in May 2014, which Canada ratified in 2014.
But Nigeria decided not to ratify the agreement because it was later found unbalanced and not consistent with Nigeria’s 2016 bilateral investment treaty (BIT) model.
Nigeria has therefore requested for the amendment or renegotiation of the agreement.
Explaining Nigeria’s position, Yewande Sadiku, Executive Secretary of Nigeria Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) said under a Country-focused investment promotion strategy, NIPC has undertaken diligent process of identifying countries that are strategic to Nigeria’s quest for direct investments.
She stated: “The deep-dive analysis conducted to determine the priority countries was based on five broad criteria related to Nigeria’s trade relations, global and sectoral investment flows, and Nigeria’s strategic relationships.
“Twenty countries were identified as being of strategic importance for investment promotion. NIPC is now working on building strategic relationships with the top 3-5 countries.â€
She said although Canada is among the 20 countries of strategic importance, Nigeria’s new policy considers investors’ rights but ensures that Nigeria is not disadvantaged.
Mr Bisi Daniels, Strategy and Communications Adviser to Enelamah, in a statement yesterday, said the minister urged them to take the necessary steps to resolve the issues speedily, adding that he was confident of the ability of Nigeria and Canada to harness their mutual interests and synergies effectively.
Source:
www.vanguardngr.com/2019/01/nigeria-canada-move-to-revive-stalled-bilateral-agreement/
