FG settles $850m debt to European airlines

The Federal Government has paid off the outstanding debt of $850 million owed European airlines, the European Union (EU) has announced.

The European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and the ECOWAS, Samuela Isopi, revealed this on Tuesday at the ongoing 9th edition of the Nigeria EU business forum in Abuja.

The forum, with the theme ‘Investing in Jobs and a Sustainable Future’, had in attendance the Director-General at the EU, Myriam Ferran, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu, and the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Ambassador Nura Rimi.

Isopi also commended the government for its intervention in clearing the backlog as well as the removal of foreign exchange restrictions on the import of 43 items.

She explained that Nigeria remains the EU’s largest trading partner, with about 35 billion euros in trade relations in the previous year.

Isopi also pointed out that Nigeria is the EU’s biggest foreign investor, with a stock estimated at 26 billion euros, representing one-third of Nigeria’s foreign direct investment, adding that over 230 EU companies operate in Nigeria, providing jobs for youths and women.

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