Trade minister woos Polish investors to Nigeria

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, has called on the business communities in Poland to consider Nigeria as a profitable investment destination.

Adebayo stated this at the Weekend in Abuja while receiving the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Nigeria, Mrs Jonna Tarnawska in his office. He said the Federal Government was committed to building on the existing relationship between Nigeria and Poland in terms of trade, commerce and industrialization.

He said that the government had put in place measures to ensure that all foreigners, including those from Poland, engage with credible local investors.

In a statement made available to the media by the Special Assistance on Media to the Minister, Julius Toba Jegede listed one of such to include the Executive Order 001, Ease of Doing Business, aimed at removing all encumbrances of business regulation.

“As a ministry, we are more than willing to assist Polish investors in any way 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 help further your knowledge of our local business environment.

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“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,” Adebayo stated.

He stated further that, “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 are no encumbrances 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.

“I can assure you that it is a very friendly environment. From the export angle, there are lots of things we can synergize on, there are lots of items branded and certified, meeting all the necessary international standards through the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON),” he stated.

Responding, the ambassador, Mrs Jonna Tarnawska expressed willingness to explore further business opportunities in Nigeria but raised concerns about the confidence of polish investors.

She said “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 benefits 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 now especially that Poland is opening-up towards West Africa. We are looking at further cooperation also in terms of trade because many Polish businesses are interested in coming to Nigeria,” she stated.