The Federal Government has called for an increase in bilateral trade between Nigeria and Vietnam from its current level of more than $1 billion to $2 billion.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dunoma Ahmed, made the call in Abuja at a reception to commemorate Vietnam’s 81st National Day and the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Nigeria and Vietnam.
Ahmed said Nigeria was seeking to deepen its economic partnership with Vietnam as part of efforts to accelerate economic growth and achieve its long-term ambition of becoming a $1 trillion economy.
“Currently, we have over one billion in trade relationships. I hope, Your Excellency Ambassador, you will increase this one billion into two billion as Nigeria is looking forward to a one trillion dollar economy,” he said.
He noted that Nigeria and Vietnam had maintained productive relations over the past five decades, with cooperation spanning agriculture, trade and investment, defence and multilateral diplomacy.
According to him, companies from both countries are already collaborating in ways that contribute to their respective national development.
“We have a lot of Nigerian companies and Vietnamese companies cooperating in contributing to the national development of each country. Nigeria and Vietnam remain important and strategic partners in West Africa and beyond. This friendship signifies the spirit of South-South cooperation,” Ahmed said.
He said the Federal Government was committed to broadening bilateral cooperation into agro-processing, renewable energy, the digital economy, pharmaceuticals, skills development and manufacturing.
The Vietnamese Ambassador to Nigeria, Le Viet Hoang, said the two countries had significant opportunities to expand economic cooperation as they marked 50 years of diplomatic relations.
Hoang described Nigeria as one of Vietnam’s largest trading partners in Africa, noting that commodities such as Nigerian cashew nuts, timber and liquefied natural gas were among products traded between the two countries.
He said Vietnam was ready to share its experience and expertise in high-tech agriculture, rice value chains, aquaculture and agro-processing to support Nigeria’s food security efforts.
The ambassador also identified telecommunications, infrastructure, innovation, e-commerce and financial technology as areas with potential for stronger bilateral cooperation.
