The Executive Secretary/ CEO, Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Emmanuel Jime, has said that the Council is ready to exchange its competencies with Bangladesh.
The NSC boss said this yesterday at Abuja, when he received the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Nigeria in company of the Nigeria- Bangladesh Business and Technology Forum Team.
He said the trade volume for Nigeria and Bangladesh reached $65million as at 2021, mostly in textile, pharmaceutical, rubber, mainly imported from Bangladesh, while Nigeria exported solid minerals; adding that both countries are set to partner on inland dry port, marine related operations, capacity and skills transfer.
“Nigeria and Bangladesh share a lot in common such as laws and it would be a good collaboration if Nigeria can get the expertise of Bangladesh in areas such as managing the Inland Dry Port across the country” he said.
He also added that the robust relationship between the two countries as members of D8 countries, would be improved upon when this partnership is actualised.
Speaking, the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Nigeria, His Excellency, Masudur Rahman, who took time to explain the achievements and recent development strides in his country, said Bangladesh was also ready to partner with Nigeria in shipping as the country is known for building its own ships, ship breaking and having a larger shipyard.
Also speaking at the event, the President, Nigeria-Bangladesh Business and Technology Forum (NBBTF), Arc. Bob Achanya, said that the High Commissioner of Bangladesh is about facilitating and exploring ways and means of supporting the NSC’s growing successes within the context of expanding bilateral relations between Nigeria and Bangladesh, and the South-South cooperation framework.
“There are so many reasons why we can relate with Bangladesh in this space: With more than 166 million people, Bangladesh is ranked as the 8th most populous country in the world (Worldometer, 2021). It covers a land area of 147,570 km2, and its density of 1265 people per km2 makes it one of the most densely populated countries in the world (World Population Review, 2020).” he explained.
He said Nigeria, like other developing countries, has had to put up with some of the Shipping, Ports, and cargo management problems faced by the sector that are impacting national logistics, road transport infrastructure.
Mr. Achanya then invited the Executive Secretary to participate in the 2022 Nigeria trade and investment mission to Bangladesh, to enable the NSC to explore windows of technical cooperation and capacity building opportunities with the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, and to also speak on current inland cargo logistics, transportation, and ports congestion challenges in Nigeria within the context of Nigeria’s Concentric Economic Diversification Initiative of the National Development Plan (NDP 2021-2025)
This delivery will guide the G2G engagement with the Bangladesh Shippers’ Council and at the Focus Nigeria roundtable, to woo the Bangladeshi sector players to Nigeria’s emerging Blue Economy and exploration of capacity building and exchange programs.
About the NBBTF
The Nigeria – Bangladesh Business and Technology Forum (NBBTF), is a Bangladesh-focused bilateral platform that was simultaneously launched in Nigeria and Bangladesh via zoom in 2022 by the Nigeria and Bangladesh Commerce, trade, and investment Ministers after the NO OBJECTION of the Bangladesh High Commission in Nigeria, with the primary goal of advocating and facilitating the expansion of bilateral relations between Nigeria and Bangladesh in both countries.
The long-term vision is to serve as ‘the Pathway of Nigeria-Bangladesh Business and investment’ actualization, ensuring the enabling business environment, promoting growth and exploring other opportunities.
