Adedokun Waliyu 
Nigerian High Commissioner to Canada, Ambassador Adeyinka Asekun has restated his commitment towards promoting trade between Nigeria and Canada.
He also noted that the current bilateral merchandise trading can be improved.
The high commissioner made the remark at the 2022 edition of Canada – Nigeria Business and Investment Summit powered by Leadership and Governance Canada.
According to Asekun, despite Nigeria being Canada’s largest bilateral merchandise trading partner in Africa totalling $2.67 billion in 2021, there are room and inherent potential for a much more volume of trade between the two countries.
“When you compare this volume of trade with the like of Nigeria-China which stood over $25billion in 2021 or say Nigeria-India which is currently at $14.95 billion.
“I believe that Nigeria and Canada can equate or surpass these volumes and I hope engagements from this summit will bring us a step closer towards the realization of this goal,” he added.
Asekun further appreciated the entire management of leadership and governance Canada Inc., for their consistency, passion and doggedness in promoting and projecting the inherent potential of various sectors of the Nigerian economy.
While addressing potential investors, Asekun said that Nigeria did not become the largest economy in Africa by chance. “As a developing economy, we have all the right resources and the numerical potency to guarantee maximum return on investment beyond and above what any investor would get from any other market.
“The priority sectors of this summit were carefully selected and represent new sources of growth for the Nigerian economy. These are sectors that an investor, with an eye for the future and the entire African market, does not need much convincing to come onboard, the returns are astronomical.
“Take for example, the Information and Communication Technology sector which is driving the FinTech revolution in Nigeria and has produced start-ups like OPay, a start-up company that came from obscurity and in less than three years became a financial service powerhouse, valued at over $2 billion today.
“This potential is true for the Agricultural sector, Education, Healthcare, Innovation and Infrastructure. So, I urge investors here today to consider becoming players in one or more of these sectors with viable growth potentials.”
He also assured potential investors of cordial bilateral relations between Nigeria and Canada which are much stronger and more vibrant than ever.
He emphasised: “We are witnessing a sustained thrust on all fronts occasioned by our robust engagements with different levels of the Canadian government across the various provinces.
“Working hand in gloves with the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Amb Jamie Christoff, I believe a lot more can be accomplished, as we tackle, head-on, the important work that needs to be done.
The high commissioner continued, “In all ramifications, Nigeria is an important country globally and a significantly crucial market for economies across the globe.
“It is the most populous African nation, with a population size of about 217.9 million people, Nigeria has One of the largest Youth populations in the world.”
He also highlighted that there are abundant raw materials, availability of a skilled and trainable workforce at a cost-effective rate, the Creative Ingenuity of our Young People, and a large market that extends to the whole of the West African region and some countries in Central Africa totalling about 300 million people.
