Sanwo-Olu to Dutch envoy: Lagos open for foreign investment

Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, on Monday said the state is open to foreign investment as he mulled partnership with the Dutch country to boost transportation capacity in the state, given that Lagos shared common realities with Amsterdam, the Netherlands’ most populous city and capital.

Sanwo-Olu said this when Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Lagos, Mr Jan Van Weijen, paid him a courtesy visit at the Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja.

The visit, according to the envoy, who assumed duty on Monday, was to officially inform the governor of the upcoming visit of the Netherlands Prime Minister to Nigeria in November for a bilateral meeting, noting that Lagos would be one of the places the visiting Dutch leader would stop.

Speaking during the visit, Sanwo-Olu said like Amsterdam, Lagos is five (5) metres above the sea level, noting the state had started studying the model used by the Netherlands to bring about a solution to transportation on its waterways.

He said his government was looking forward to activating collaborations that could bring about Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Lagos to boost the capacity of transportation in the State.

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“Netherlands is a beautiful country that has preserved its legacy in innovative governance over the decades. It is not out of place for Lagos, as a big city in Nigeria and Africa, to learn from the Amsterdam examples, given common realities we share. Nature has endowed both cities, but these endowments must not be a burden. This is why we must take the opportunity to discuss cooperation and partnership.

“We will be working with your team. We will be planning further engagement to ensure that our partnership is mutually beneficial and rewarding to both countries and to our citizens.

“We are open for business and open to have a conversation around Lagos development and to make it a great and a megacity than what it is today,” the governor said.

Earlier in his remark, Van Weijen said the Netherlands government was ready to partner with Lagos in delivering the key objectives in the six pillars of development programmes of the Sanwo-Olu administration known as Project T.H.E.M.E.S.

He said: “I will like to officially inform you of the visit of the prime minister of the Netherlands to Lagos State and Abuja, which is coming up at the end of November. We will be showcasing our cooperation with Lagos and consolidating on the progress we shared for more investment drive.

“We are looking at cooperation in transportation, exploring the Lagos waterways to alleviate the pain of road transportation. The Netherlands has achieved much progress in this area; we request Lagos to study the solution we proffered in order to solve its transportation problems. Lagos is the city for the next millennium. Given our interest Project T.H.E.M.E.S. of the Lagos Government.

“We have excellent opportunities to mutually benefit from cooperation, which will also get the Dutch business involved in regenerating the metropolis of Lagos,” he said.

Van Weijen was accompanied on the visit by Deputy Consul-General, Mr Ayinole’ Kohndou, and Adviser on Economy, Trade and Investment Affairs, Ms Sonia Fajusigbe.