President Muhammadu Buhari and the Prime Minister of
The Netherland, Mark Rutte, have agreed to work together to deepen trade
volume, private investment as well as fight human trafficking among others.
Rutte is on a two-day working visit to Nigeria, and
is leading a trade delegation of eight Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Dutch
multinationals currently operating in Nigeria with huge investment portfolios
in the agriculture, finance, oil and gas sectors.
According to a statement signed by the Special Adviser on
Media and Publicity to the President,
Femi Adesina, the two leaders
reached the agreement yesterday when they both met in Abuja to discuss
bilateral relations between Nigeria and The
Netherlands.
A communiqué issued at the end of the meeting revealed that
the two leaders reviewed the progress that has been made on the implementation
of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on improving the bilateral relations
between the two countries concluded and signed by the respective Foreign
Ministers in The Hague in July 2018.
‘‘We welcome the steps
that have been made to increase bilateral economic cooperation and are happy to
see higher levels of bilateral trade volumes as well as private sector
investments,’’ the communiqué signed by Nigerian Ambassador to the Kingdom of
Netherlands, Oji Ngofa, and the Deputy Head of Mission, The Netherland Embassy
in Abuja, Ewout-Jan de Wit, said.
It added: ‘‘The contribution of Dutch private businesses,
both global players and small, micro and medium enterprises, to the Nigerian
economy is duly noted.
‘‘Investments by the Netherlands Investment Bank FMO and the
Dutch Good Growth Fund are contributing to better access to finance and energy
for the private sector.
‘‘Nigeria confirms its commitment to continuing reforms for a
conducive business and investment environment while The Netherlands pledges to
continue assisting Nigeria for an increase in agricultural productivity, especially
horticulture, seed, and sustainable palm oil production.’’
President Buhari and Prime Minister Rutte also reiterated
their commitments to the fight against human trafficking, appreciating the
close collaboration between both countries in supporting the victims.
Noting with concern the challenging security situation in the
West-African sub-region and Nigeria, The Netherlands acknowledged the sustained
efforts of Nigeria in the fight against insurgency and in countering violent
extremism.
‘‘The Netherlands will continue to provide
humanitarian assistance to those in need, particularly women and girls, in
order to mitigate the impact of insecurity and displacement,’’ the communiqué
said.
After the bilateral consultations between delegations
of both countries, Buhari and Rutte witnessed the signing of the MoU on dairy
chain development between Royal FrieslandCampina WAMCO and the Government of
Niger State.
Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, and the Managing
Director, FrieslandCampina WAMCO Plc, Mr. Ben Langat, signed the MoU.
The agreement on dairy chain development is expected
to save Nigeria about $1.2 billion from milk importation annually.
While speaking to State House correspondents, the Dutch Prime
Minister expressed delight to make his
first visit to Nigeria.
According to him, "It is an honour to be here in
Nigeria. It’s my first visit to Nigeria, and like I said at the lunch meeting,
I am very impressed. Everything in this country is huge, is big. It is 20 times
the size of The Netherlands and more people live in Lagos than the whole of my
country.”
He added that from the discussions we had with the
business leaders, it was very clear that despite the fact that there are so
many differences, the two countries have a lot to offer each other politically,
economically or culturally.
"Politically, Nigeria has taken its
responsibility as one of Africa’s most important countries by playing a leading
role in the region, and by this way expanding democracy in West Africa. I have
deep respect for the way Nigeria is doing this including the leadership of the
president.
"I also want to express my appreciation for Nigeria’s
active role in promoting international law in the International Criminal Court
in The Hague. Our countries, Nigeria and The Netherlands, share the belief that
international law contributes to a fair and safer world. We are also working
together on the issue of migration, and that is why the minister of migration
is part of my delegation, and my country is looking forward to continuing this
excellent partnership," he stressed.
The prime minister noted that one of the focuses of the visit
is economic cooperation. He said both Nigeria and The Netherlands stand greatly
to benefit from the economic cooperation, adding that there is room for trade
expansion as The Netherlands is Nigeria’s third biggest trading partner and a major
importer of Nigerian products.
On the humanitarian situation in the North-east
region, he said: “We discussed at length the situations both in The Netherlands
and in Nigeria and also what is happening in the different regions. We try to
be involved as much as possible because of the long standing relationship
between our two countries.
“We have a very active embassy here, there is a
very active ambassador in the European and the Dutch side and from the Nigeria,
and we can work together and deal with these issues.”
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