Nigeria and the Kingdom of Belgium have mapped out ways to strengthen the existing bilateral relations between both countries especially to boost trade and investment.
Indications to this development emerged when a Belgian trade delegation led by the Belgian Ambassador to Nigeria, Stephen De Loecker, paid a visit to the Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama in Abuja recently.
Speaking during the meeting, Onyeama said that Nigeria has taken steps to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by improving its rating at the Ease of Doing Business, stressing that Nigeria will continue to partner with countries to grow its economy.
He said “The recent Ease of Doing Business rating has shown that Nigeria remains an investment destination. We have been trying to put in place a number of building blocks to make Nigeria more attractive to FDI.”
He said that Nigeria is a large market with a population of 200 million adding that a larger percentage of the population are young people with great potential going into the future.
The Belgian Ambassador, Loecker in his remarks, noted that his country intends to deepen relations with Nigeria in the areas of agribusiness, health, port facilities, infrastructur, oil and gas and many others
The Belgian trade delegation was in Abuja for a six-day discussion on varied areas of mutually beneficial interest and strengthening the diplomatic relations between both countries that was established in 1961.