ROME: Italy says it wants to contribute and invest in the diversification of the Nigerian economy. Mr Vincenzo Luca, Director General for Cultural and Economic Promotion and Innovation, Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, made the promise in Abuja on Thursday. Luca, leader of delegation from Italy, spoke during an investment forum with the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC).
Luca said the companies are specialised in oil and gas sector, infrastructure, aerospace and defence industry, airways and some important food industries. “We think we can have a very useful and win win partnership between Italy and Nigeria in the agriculture and aero business sector because we have plenty of resources. “We can create employment here with our Italian technology as one of the most advanced in food processing in the world’’, he said.
Luca said they would want to build a sustainable partnership in a long term perceptive with Nigeria. He said Italy was already devising the means of fully exploiting the potentials of Nigeria as well as the prevailing opportunities that the present administration presents. Luca said Nigeria would be a major strategic partner for development and that they would do everything it takes to sustain and improve on it. Mrs Ladi Katagum, Acting Executive Secretary of NIPC, said the visit was a vote of confidence because of their intention to invest in Nigeria.
Katagum said that the Italian companies in the country were also with them to show their commitment to reinvest in Nigeria. She said Eni, Italian multinational oil and gas company promised to invest 11 billion dollars over the next four years. Katagum said the country was investor- friendly hence they were willing to invest in the country. She said the commission would be on hand to assist and provide hand holding services to any of the Italian company.
She said lot of foreign investors had shown interest to invest in Nigeria adding that it would take a long time to materialise. “This is so because no investor will just come and start investing immediately, it is a process and we will soon start to see the dividend of all the delegations’’, Katagum said. Meanwhile, Dr Maikanti Baru, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, says Nigeria and Spain have expressed their readiness to strengthen their bilateral relations in the oil and gas industry.
