Nigeria and Chad have agreed to set up a joint business council for the development of stronger commercial ties and the improvement of bilateral trade and investment flows between the two countries.
The spokesperson of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Daniel Awurum, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
Trade and investment relationship between Nigeria and Chad predates the political independence of both countries.
The establishment of the joint business council is expected to foster bilateral relations between key public and private sector institutions in both countries and drive the actualisation of tangible investments which will drive economic growth and development.
According to the statement, the joint council is the outcome of a meeting between the management of NIPC and a business delegation from the Republic of Chad led by Nigeria’s Ambassador to Chad, Sadique Abubakar and his counterpart, Ambassador of Chad to Nigeria, Abakar Saleh Chahaimi, in Abuja on Friday.
The acting Executive Secretary/CEO, NIPC, Emeka Offor said, “NIPC will facilitate the setting up of the Joint Business Council in accordance with our mandate – to encourage, promote and coordinate investments in the country.”
“There is, therefore, the need to formalise business activities between both countries,” he stated while making the case for setting up the Joint Business Council.
On his part, Mr Abubakar said he has been particularly interested in increasing the trade and investment between both countries, since he assumed office in January 2021.
“I think we can also look forward to how we can promote trade through cargo flights between both countries,” he said.