Vietnamese and Nigerian officials discussed ways to increase economic, trade and investment cooperation, and technology transfer between the two countries at a workshop in Da Nang city on December 11.

Nigeria has the largest oil reserve in Africa and is the 6th biggest oil producer in the world and the second in Africa. From a rice exporter, Nigeria has now become a rice importer, with the amount reaching 1.5-1.7 million tonnes a year.

Nigerian Charge d’Affaires Sani Bako said that the two countries have great opportunities for investment and business cooperation, but the results have failed to meet their expectations due to the lack of information and understanding between the two business communities and limited trade promotions. In addition, he said the businesses have not actively participated in international exhibitions and fairs held in their respective countries.

He recommended that Nigeria and Vietnam should explore new areas of cooperation, such as oil and gas, minerals, construction, power, agriculture, cement production, transport and telecommunications.
He said Nigeria and Vietnam should work on a project to launch a direct air route to facilitate bilateral cooperation.

Vietnam has exported garments, computers, electronic and pharmaceutical products, plastics, motorbike and automobile accessories to Nigeria since 1995. It has imported cashew nuts, cotton and timbre from the African nation since 1998.

Source: VOV