By Sunday Oyinloye
On Thursday April, 25, 2024, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Steel Development, Uba Maigari Ahmadu, Chairman of the Parliamentary Friendship Group Nigeria-Belgium at the National Assembly, Hon. Adamu Saba, Chairman of the House Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Tochukwu Okere, lawmaker representing Ilorin East/South Federal Constituency, Hon. Ahmed Yinka Aluko ,immediate past Nigerian Ambassador to Belgium, Obinna Chiedu Onowu, members of the diplomatic corps, a delegation from CBL-ACP Chamber of Commerce, some members of Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), and others from different business backgrounds gathered at the residence of Belgian Ambassador to Nigeria, Pieter Leenknegt for a cocktail reception
However, it was not the usual cocktail where people just wine, rather, the event was to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between CBL-ACP Chamber of Commerce and Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) in preparation for the second edition of Nigeria Belgium Luxembourg Business Forum. The first edition which was a huge success was held in Brussels and Luxembourg in June last year.
CBL-ACP is organizing the second edition of the high-level Nigeria Belgium Luxembourg Business Forum in Brussels from 18th to 20th September, 2024.
The Business Forum will focus on Agriculture, Pharmaceuticals, Construction, Manufacturing, infrastructure, power, Commodities, Oil and Gas, Logistics and other sectors of the economy.
Speaking at the cocktail reception, the Minister of State for Steel Development, Uba Maigari Ahmadu said Nigeria is well endowed in natural resources stressing that the present administration is committed to the attraction of direct foreign investment.
According to Uba, from steel to Agriculture, solid minerals and other sectors of the economy, Nigeria is ready to do business with its partners.
He disclosed that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Administration places premium on private sector driven economy and sees the management of the economy as a big business.
The Minister said government is taking harsh and difficult decisions not to punish Nigerians, but to put the economy on the right track.
His words: “Government is taking very harsh and difficult decisions, not deliberately taken to cause hardship, no, they are painful decisions that someone has to take. The President because of his political willpower has to take those decisions which are the only way to go with a view to repositioning the country for the benefit of the generality of the people of Nigeria.”
Uba who described Nigeria as the number one business destination in Africa disclosed that he had just returned from a ground breaking ceremony of a $50 million investment within the Federal Capital Territory. He said no one would invest such huge amount if Nigeria’s economy and the business environment are not trusted.
He advised Nigerian businesses to participate in the Nigeria Belgium Luxembourg Business Forum.
In his address, the Belgian Ambassador to Nigeria, Pieter Leenknegt commended the strong business focus of the immediate past Nigerian Ambassador to Belgium, Obinna Onowu hoping that his successor will put an equal emphasis on it.
He explained that from the point of view of the Embassy of Belgium, “ Nigeria is not so much a partner country for development cooperation as so many other ones in the sub-region; it is a middle income country open for and eager to do business”.
According to him “there is much more than meets the eye at first sight and our trade statistics are not telling the whole story”.
The Ambassador disclosed that Belgium is doing a lot in and for Nigeria adding that two fresh stories from the last two months provide excellent examples of it.
In his words: “One month before the EU and Nigeria signed a deal worth 18 million euro to boost vaccines production in Nigeria, and in the sidelines of a Ministerial level event on Health Sovereignty in Africa organized by the Belgian EU presidency in the Egmont Palace in Brussels, the Belgian company Univercells signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Minister of Health, Muhammad Ali Pate.
“Their ultimate goal is to save more lives and provide affordable healthcare for all Nigerians. An ensuing action plan will now focus on the production in Nigeria of MRNA type vaccines against Lassa fever, and on training local capacity.
“Developing MRNA vaccines in Nigeria was mentioned by Minister for Foreign Affairs Tuggar as one of the six big priority areas in the collaboration between Europe and Nigeria – and a Belgian SME knows how to unpack this.
“With revolutionary business practices and scientific methods, they also know how to bring down the dimensions of a production facility from a classic big factory building to something the size of a classroom.’’
The Ambassador explained the second example thus: “Two weeks after the EU and Nigeria celebrated Zero Waste Day together in Abuja, we received word that a Brussels-based company, Haemers Technologies, was identified by HYPREP, the Nigerian agency in charge of remediation for the oil pollution in the Niger Delta, as the ideal partner to be part of the clean-up there.
“With its thermal desorption techniques, Haemers Technologies also caught the attention of the Vietnamese government in combating the harmful effects of Agent Orange dropped by the US army during the war in the sixties and seventies.
“After a technology tour in three countries, HYPREP and the Nigerian Ministry of the Environment got convinced that the Belgian SME can enable them to “deploy the best innovative technology that can be found globally”.
“If all goes smoothly, a contract will be signed in a matter of weeks from now. The clean-up will finally bring justice to the Ogoni people decades after their land got contaminated by oil majors, and after Ken Saro-Wiwa and his friends, during the Sani Abacha dictatorship era, paid with their lives for their engagement to the cause of reparation
“It will also implement a UN assessment report on how to deal with the oil spills, more than a decade after it was drafted. And, as in the case of Univercells, training local people and transferring knowledge and technology will be central to Haemers’ endeavors.
“On a more business-to-business level, we welcomed in Lagos in late January a very self-organized, compact trade mission of eight Belgian companies around Vyncke, specialized in waste solutions, renewable energy generation, water treatment and food storage and processing.”
He said both Eurocham and the Nigerian Belgian Chamber of Commerce are programming interesting activities this year, and are keeping a listening ear to the needs of our actual and potential investors and innovators in Nigeria.
“And right here, this evening, the Belgian-Luxembourg-ACP Chamber will sign an MoU with the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry. We are looking forward to ever more such engagements and interactions.”
Pieter disclosed further “In the past three days, Brussels hosted the World Cocoa Conference, and an exchange of expertise between government experts from cocoa producing countries will be organized in the wake of it in June, by our Ministry’s think tank the Egmont Institute”
In his remarks, the Director General of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Agabaidu Chukwuemeka Jideani, said it is great opportunity to work with the Belgium Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in the coming Business and Investment Forum coming up in September.
According to him, “ What ACCI seeks basically is market access for Nigerian businesses as well as inward investment and outward opportunities for us to invest in their own businesses. We will be taking part in the event that will be held shortly after our own international trade fair”.
He hopes the MOU will be the beginning of mutually beneficial relationship between businesses in Nigeria and businesses under Belgium Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce.
Giving an insight into the Business Forum, the Secretary-General of CBL-ACP, Thomas De Beule recalled that a reception had earlier been held in Lagos and commended the Ambassador for hosting the reception, and also commended other sponsors of the event.
He encouraged Nigerian businesses to register and participate in the Business Forum.
Thomas disclosed that hotel accommodation would be provided for interested participants at discounted rates.
He said the Business Forum will include plenary session/seminar, a networking lunch, Business to Business and Business to Government meetings between Nigerian government officials and Nigerian companies as well as company visits.
On his part, Collins Nweke who consults for Nigeria Belgium Luxembourg Business Forum said: “We will be making case for Nigerian businesses that are able and willing to explore beyond Nigeria to seal foreign partnership to be able to achieve their short, medium and long term goals to be part of the business forum.
“We are reaching out to them to say there are rooms of opportunities in Belgium and Luxembourg and by extension the entire EU taking advantage of our location in the capital of the European Union which is Brussels
“Come out there and explore opportunities and you have us as CBL-ACP Chamber to facilitate that process through business to business and business to government because there are quite a lot happening between businesses and government “
Nweke disclosed that Nigerian government has always been trying to encourage investments in the non-oil sector adding “we are saying get on with oil and gas but at the same time, there are opportunities outside oil and gas and we are here to facilitate that”
The MoU was later signed the Secretary-General of CBL-ACP, Thomas De Beule and the Director General of Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Agabaidu Chukwuemeka Jideani signaling a solid preparation for the Business Forum in Brussels which is expected to attract many businesses from Nigeria, Belgium , Luxembourg and other parts of Europe
