Nigeria to revisit pending bilateral investments with Brazil- FG

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Richard Adeniyi Adebayo says the federal government will revisit pending bilateral investments agreement with the government of Brazil.

The Minister said this over the weekend in Abuja when he received a delegation from the Brazilian Embassy in Nigeria in his office.

He told the delegation led by Mr Ricardo Guerra de Araujo, the Brazilian Ambassador and Mr Jackson Lima, Deputy Head of Mission, that Nigeria had a long history of bilateral relationship with Brazil.
In a statement by the Deputy Director Press of the ministry, Ibrahim Haruna,  the minister reiterated the committment of Nigeria in spreading her trade and investment across the world in line with the economic blueprint of the Buhari Administration.
“This government believes in investment drive and we will leave no stone unturned in considering those multilateral and bilateral investment agreements capable of showcasing Nigeria’s investment potential to the world.
“In line with the blueprint of the Buhari Administration, we will look into all the documents submitted today by the Brazilian delegation with a view to seeing how they can assist our people in job creation, capacity building and technology transfer, ” Adebayo said.
In his earlier remarks, Guerra de Araujo, the Brazilian ambassador congratulated the Minister on his recent appointment and noted that the agreement which began in January 2016 under the Cooperation and Facilitation Investment Agreement, would offer Nigeria loan facility to the tune of $1.1 billion.

“The agreement covers areas like: Agriculture, Trade, Investment and Industrialization.The initiative also has the  capacity to create 100,000 new jobs for the youths across various sectors.
We urge you to to set all technical framework in motion ahead of the first  exchange of information between the two countries towards further negotiations scheduled for 9th – 13th September, 2019,” he said
He assured  that under its Global Value Chain, Brazil would use its position as one of the five top agriculture producers in the world to improve Nigeria’s food sector.
He also noted that reviving the nation’s cotton industry through modern technology would be included under the program.
The ambassador maintained that Nigeria has always been the largest investment destination in the African continent which is why Brazil is giving it top priority. 
He added that Brazil had signed a similar agreement with Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Morocco and Ethiopia, including United Arabic Emirate (UAE) which is the most recent.