By Egena Sunday Ode
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Republic of Türkiye, on Tuesday in Ankara, said his country targets a $5 billion trade volume with Nigeria, adding that discussions to actualise this have already commenced.
President Erdogan stated this during a joint press briefing with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the Nigerian President’s State Visit, according to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga on Tuesday.
At present, the trade volume between the two nations is about $2 billion. Turkey exports planes, helicopters, machinery, iron and steel, and chemical products to Nigeria. .Nigeria exports crude oil and agricultural products to Türkiye.
President Erdogan said the establishment of the Joint Economy and Trade Committee between the two countries will create opportunities to expand Turkish investments in Nigeria to realise the target.
President Erdogan praised the commitment of President Tinubu to develop Nigeria and highlighted the presence of several ministers and high-ranking officials as the most unambiguous indication of this political determination:
“Today, we conducted a comprehensive review of our relations with the esteemed President and his delegation in the fields of trade, investments, energy, education and defence industry.
“Firstly, we see that we have significant potential in the fields of trade and investment. In today’s meetings, our commitment is to the $5 billion trade volume target, and we discussed the steps needed.
“We also discussed opportunities to support our investments in Nigeria. We believe that the joint Economy and Trade Committee, which we agreed to establish today, will be instrumental in this regard.”
President Erdogan hailed the Nigerian President’s strides in the energy sector, which has resulted in the restructuring of the country’s economy.
He hoped that the cooperation between the Turkish Petroleum Corporation, their Nigerian counterparts, and organisations would yield the expected outcomes.
President Erdogan promised to assist Nigeria in tackling insurgency, given its history with a similar problem.
“Terrorist organisations emerging, particularly in Africa’s Sahel region, unfortunately, pose a threat to the peace of the entire continent. We stand by the friendly people of Nigeria in their fight against terrorism under the leadership of President Tinubu.
“In fact, today, we addressed opportunities for closer cooperation in the fields of military training and intelligence. We stated that we are ready to share our country’s significant experience in combating terrorism.
“Also, I believe that we will soon see positive outcomes from the meetings that Nigerian officials will hold with our leading defence industry companies during this visit,” he said.
In his remarks, President Tinubu expressed gratitude to the Republic of Türkiye for its openness and willingness to collaborate in promoting global freedom, stability, and prosperity.
He emphasised the importance of creating an inclusive economy, particularly focusing on vulnerable people.
President Tinubu commended the Turkish leader for being “willing to collaborate, willing to help, willing to work together to promote freedom, stability and prosperity, shared prosperity across the world.
“What is very important to the countries being discussed, trade, business, no restrictions, giving opportunity to those who are ready to learn to work and prosper. How do we build an inclusive economy together? How do we reform the economy and involve vulnerable people? How do we ensure peace in the world?” he asked.
President Tinubu stressed that Nigeria would continue to play a significant role in promoting peace and stability in Africa despite security challenges in some parts of the country.
“We discussed efforts against terrorism. We discussed how to defeat agents of destabilisation.”
President Tinubu also praised President Erdogan for his commitment towards promoting global peace, particularly his efforts in Somalia.
At the end of the bilateral meeting, officials from the two countries signed 9 agreements.
They were: Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Diaspora Policy; Agreement on Defence Cooperation; Joint Declaration Establishing the Economy and Trade Joint Committee; and Agreement in the Field of Halal Quality Infrastructure.
Others include Cooperation in the Field of Higher Education; Cooperation in the Field of Media and Communication; Cooperation in the Field of Education; Cooperation Between the Republic of Türkiye, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Diplomacy Academy, and the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Affairs Academy; and Cooperation Between the Republic of Türkiye, Ministry of Social services and the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Ministry of women Affairs and Social Development.
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