The Federal government has promised to continue to encourage Free Trade Zones scheme as vehicle for developing industrial potentials of the country and the utilization of local contents as well as inducement of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Minister of Commerce and Industry, Senator Jubril Martins-Kuye, said the Free Trade Zones scheme has generated millions of employment, encouraged technological transfer and value addition as well as drastically reduced youth's restiveness in the Niger Delta.

While reviewing the progress of the Commerce and Industry Sector, at the just concluded 4th Meeting of the National Council on Commerce and Industry (NCCI-04) held at the Ibom Le Meridien and Golf Resort, Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State, the Minister said in its quest for stability of the scheme, the Ministry has streamlined the functions of the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA) in line with the statutory provision of the authority' Act for it to deliver its mandate optimally.

He said Nigeria has been participating effectively in the on-going World trade Organization' (WTO) Doha Development Round Negotiation, which was launched in 2001, noting that there has been a missed deadline on the conclusion of the Doha Development Round due to lack of consensus on some of the issues under negotiation such as subsidies and trade distorting and domestic support to agriculture by the developed countries.

He said that Nigeria's Bilateral Trade relations with other countries have also been very cordial especially, with USA, EU, Asia countries, noting that based on this he led the Nigerian delegation to the 9th Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum, held in Washington DC and Akansa City USA last August.

The Forum was attended by participants (Public and Private) from 38 Sub Saha African (SSA) countries and their United States counterpart. Agriculture and agro-allied business remained the focus of the years AGOA Forum.

He said Nigeria, though a leading AGOA beneficiary country in terms of oil and energy related products is yet to harness its full potentials in the non-oil export and thereby take full advantage of AGOA, adding that the Ministry in collaboration with relevant stakeholders on AGOA plans to reinvigorate the implementation process, saying the ministry intends to organize the first Nigeria entrepreneurs Summit in the third quarter of this year to develop the blue print on how to stimulate growth in the real sector of the economy especially on non-oil products.

The Minister therefore enjoined each state Ministry of commerce and Industry to set up an AGOA State committee made up of relevant government agencies and private sector representatives for wider and effective mobilisation of stakeholders.

Latest AGOA Trade Data currently available on AGOA.info


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