Germany, Nigeria trade volume in 2016 down by €2.5bn – Envoy

The volume of bilateral trade between Germany and Nigeria has declined to €3.5billion from €6billion recorded at the end of 2015.

This was disclosed in Abuja obilateral n Monday by the German Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Bernhard Schlagheck, while addressing the media.

The envoy blamed the fall on the economic downturn in Nigeria and volatile business environment, but expressing his determination to work toward increasing the volume of trade between both countries.

Schlagheck stated that as part of the efforts to deepen bilateral economic relations, the German government was supporting market exploration missions by business delegations to Nigeria.

According to him, Germany had committed millions of Euros to vocational training in Nigeria and was prepared to keep promoting the programmes and any activity that will deepen the economy of the two countries.

“The German Government has a whole range of activities in various states in this country and we have invested €50m in vocational training in Nigeria in a year.

“We are doing a lot of other training in Nigeria. In various states, we have projects of German enterprises with some private partners.

“So, we have whole lots of training to enhance capacity building in Nigeria.”

Schlagheck added that such collaboration has kick off, citing the just concluded training session on technical facility management through Germany Dual Vocational Training in partnership with the Abuja Chamber of Commerce as an example.

According to him, DVT system is the commonest form of vocational training in Germany.

The envoy explained that “dual” in this context meant a combination of practical, on-the-job training and theoretical education at a vocational school to ensure proper balance of theory and practice.

The President of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Tony Ejinkeonye, while collaborating the views of the envoy said that the project started in March 2015, and was initiated by the chamber and Giessen-Friedberg with a view to adding quality to vocational education in Nigeria.

“The apprenticeship scheme is used widely in Germany and it has over the years contributed to the success story being recorded in that country’s manufacturing sector.’’

Myke Uzendu, Abuja