By Miriam Humbe
The Minister, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI) Dr Jumoke Oduwole met with her counter part of the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani to harness areas of collaboration towards economic growth.
Dr Adebayo Thomas, FMITI’s Director, Press and Public Relations disclosed this in a statement signed on Wednesday.
The Meeting held at the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment FMITI was at the instance of Dr oduwole.
Realising the importance of digital innovation to modern trade and investment, Oduwole noted that it was gratifying to her to collaborate with a sister Ministry to drive her goals of improved international trade and increase direct foreign investment.
She itemised the areas of potential collaborations to include national e- commerce policy and strategy ( NEPS 2023- 2027),national talent export programme, (NATEP), leadership in AFCFTA, technology export and digital trade desk, driving service export growth and diversification among others.
Oduwole said: “International trade and investment is a big agenda for us ,we are scaling up where we can be globally competitive”.
“We are scaling up digital infrastructure in both public and private sectors, we are growing support for start ups”.
Dr oduwole said that Nigeria has positioned herself as the champion in trade especially in the African region.
She said: “We are trading in Africa, trading in Africa is a must for us and so we must advance digital trade in Africa”.
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani said that the entire focus of the present administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu was to drive prosperity through technology.
He said: “The collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, is in the right direction.”
“Modern day technology is a key enabler for any economy, if you increase investment in technology by 10%, it can produce 25% increase in GDP.
“We are targeting billion dollar investments into the country, so this is where trade and investment is important to our Ministry.
“We need talent, the right infrastructure, right policy and the right environment to do these”.
He said that the role of investment and innovators cannot be over emphasized .
“Great nations are great not only because of they are able to produce technology but also because they are able to export technology.
“There is global shortage of Digital talent population ,this is where Nigeria has comparative advantage over developed nations.
“We believe Nigeria can be a net exporter of talents with her huge youth population”.
Dr Tijani also informed that already, 3 million youths had been trained in technology skills so far.
He said: “Our goal is not only to train them but also ensure that they are gainfully employed” .
The Minister noted that there are many business opportunities for both ministries abroad urging the private sector to take advantage of such opportunities through the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment as well the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy.
Nigeria trade mission in the United States is also available for all prospective investors, he added.
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