THE Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Chief Adeniyi Adebayo, has told investors from Poland to consider Nigeria for business opportunities.
Adeboayo made the request in Abuja when he received Mrs Jonna Tarnawska, the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Nigeria, in his office.
He said that the Federal Government was committed to building on existing relationship between Nigeria and Poland in terms of trade, commerce and industrialisation.
He said government had put in place measures to ensure that all foreigners, including those from Poland engage with credible local investors.
He listed one of such measures to include the Executive Order 001, Ease of Doing Business, aimed at removing all encumbrances of business regulation.
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He said: “As a ministry, we are more than willing to assist Polish investors in anyway possible with regards to guaranteeing the credibility of Nigeria businesses.
“We know our people and we know the credible ones, so we are ready to give assistance in that regard. If there are areas where your firms need introduction to credible people here, we will assist.
“We will give you the investment brochure of Nigeria through the Nigeria Investment Promotion Council, to embrace your knowledge of our local business environment.
“Nigeria is also going to initiate economic and technical cooperation with Poland so that in the process, we will have a trade mission and proper economic activities to be carried out between the two countries.
“I want to specifically allay your fears about Polish businesses coming to Nigeria. This ministry is playing a leading role in ease of doing business and it is backed by the Executive Order, tagged “Executive Order 001. It means that there is no encumbrance when it comes to the registration of your businesses. Even at the point of entering into the country, you will have automatic visa on arrival.
“In fact, the agencies under this ministry were given awards for easing businesses for both foreign and local investors. We have the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). We have the Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority (OGFZA), for the oil and gas sector. We have an array of such agencies.
“I’m saying this to allay your fears about the type of relationship that would exist between your country’s business and Nigeria. I can assure you that it is a very friendly environment. From the export angle, there are lots of things we can synergise on. There are lots of items that are branded and certified and meet international standards through the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON).
“With all these, the credible platform for all foreigners including Polish nationals coming to do business in Nigeria is already established”.
Earlier, the ambassador had expressed the willingness to explore further business opportunities in Nigeria, but raised concerns about the confidence of polish investors.
According to her, “the essence of our visit is to reiterate that Poland will like to continue its cooperation with Nigeria.
“Poland has a long standing relationship with Nigeria. And we will like to further develop on this for the benefit of both nations.
“Our country is willing to ensure cooperation with Nigeria in many areas such as: maritime, defence, education and economy.
“I believe we need this relationship, especially now that Poland is opening up to West Africa and of course West Africa cannot be mentioned without Nigeria.
“We are looking forward to further cooperation too in terms of trade, because many Polish businesses are interested in coming to Nigeria.”