Minister Väyrynen to make an export promotion trip to Nigeria
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen will make a visit to Nigeria on 14–17 March. The places he will visit are Abuja, the capital, and Lagos, the economic centre. The minister will be accompanied by a business delegation of more than 20 representatives of Finnish know-how on a broad scale.
The purpose of the visit is to promote Finland’s trade with and investments in Nigeria and wider on Western African markets, and to solidify and expand knowledge of Finnish expertise in Nigeria.
The visit is hosted by the Nigerian Minister of Commerce and Industry. In addition, during his trip Väyrynen is also scheduled to meet with other central ministers and the Acting President of Nigeria. In connection with the trip, a seminar on Western African regional development will be organised in Abuja together with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and there will be a business forum in Lagos.
Nigeria is Finland’s second largest trade partner in sub-Saharan Africa, after South Africa. Prospects for growth in trade are good, and Nigerian industry has purchasing power. Minister Väyrynen’s trip is the first export and trade promotion trip made from Finland to Nigeria.
Additional information: Helena Airaksinen, Head of the Unit for Eastern and Western Africa, tel. +358 9 160 56260, mobile tel. +358 40 829 3412, and Päivi Nevala, Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, mobile tel. +358 40 753 4375