By Milton Tella – His Excellency, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola the Nigeria High Commissioner to the UK has continued in his commitment to boost his country’s Trade and Investment opportunities.
Ambassador Isola’s efforts at developing strong trading links between the United Kingdom and Nigeria are already yielding results with many UK companies seeking opportunities in Africa’s largest economy.
His Excellency, Sarafa Isola attended various seminars, standing shoulder to shoulder with business leaders to turn these trade and investment interests into reality. His drive, dynamism and determination at seizing every opportunity created by Brexit are yielding results.
Ambassador Isola, on 5 April 2022, received in audience, at the Nigeria High Commission London, representatives of The Edinburg International Culture Summit. This is the apex body that brings together Culture Ministers, Artists, thinkers and arts leaders from around the world to share ideas, expertise and best practices, with a view to inspire positive change in cultural policy and investment.
His Excellency, Ambassador Isola also received officials of Wanis International Food UK, one of Europe’s leading wholesalers at his office on 12 April 2022.
Wanis International Foods was founded in 1964 and the company has grown to be one of the UK’s leading and trusted World Foods distributors.
The leading food cash and carry company recently announced that Sainsbury’s, UK’s second largest supermarket, has agreed to stock across 241 stores, a number of iconic African Caribbean products made in Ghana, Nigeria, Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica.
Wanis delegation led by Mr George Phillips, Commercial Director, intimated Ambassador Isola of the company’s interest in doing business in Nigeria and their planned trip to attend the coming Food & Beverage West Africa Exhibition taking place in Lagos, Nigeria on 14 – 15 June 2022.
Making reference to the strong existing relationship between the United Kingdom and Nigeria, the High Commissioner advised the delegation to take full advantage of the bilateral cooperation across economic development, trade and investment in the interests of both British and Nigerian businesses.
He outlined his government’s long-term commitment to building infrastructure in order to develop Nigeria as a world-class economy.
The improvement in ease of doing business in Nigeria has created tangible benefits, aiming to remove barriers to trade and investment and also increase opportunities for both the UK and Nigeria businesses to invest and create jobs.
According to the KPMG 2019 Report, Nigeria ranks 131 out of 190 countries on the World Bank Doing Business Index, moving up 15 places from 146th position in the 2019 Report. The Report names Nigeria, for the second time, as one of the top 10 countries with the most notable improvements during the review period, with Togo being the only other African country. Of the 12 indicators, Nigeria improved significantly in starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, trading across borders and enforcing contracts indices.
The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, led by Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has been responsible for driving business reforms in Nigeria since 2016. This is in line with the Federal Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP 2017 – 2020) targeting Nigeria’s rank among the top 70 in the World Bank Doing Business Index by 2023.
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