A former Nigerian Minister of Finance and newly elected Director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has arrived Nigeria for a one-week working visit which she believes will better assist Nigerian entrepreneurs with respect to improving the economy,
This is Ms Okonjo-Iweala’s first visit to the West African country where she also served as the Coordinating Minister of the Nigerian economy and since she assumed office as the first female and first African WTO Director-general on March 1.
“The whole objective is to see how the WTO can better assist Nigeria and Nigerian entrepreneurs with respect to improving the economy,” she told journalists as she was received by Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, the permanent secretary of the ministry of industry, trade, and investment.
She added further that: “We hope to be able to use the African Continental Free Trade agreement to improve our trade and to do that we have to improve investments, we have to add value to some of our products.
“This continental free trade agreement is a unique opportunity for us to be able to engage commercially with other African countries and boost our exports.”
The WTO boss said she hopes to meet with the country’s President Muhammadu Buhari, the president’s chief of staff, as well as other key ministers related to the economy, the governor of the central bank, the organised private sector as well as entrepreneurs.
By Abel Ejikeme