By Faith Anisiobi, The Sight News
Nigeria and Thailand have reaffirmed their commitment to deepening economic cooperation and expanding bilateral trade and investment for the mutual benefit of both countries.
The commitment was made on Tuesday in Abuja when Nigeria and Thailand signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Technical Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, signed the agreement on behalf of Nigeria, while Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, signed for his country.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu said the agreement would strengthen cooperation between both countries, particularly in skills development, technology transfer and sustainable development.
She welcomed Thailand’s Thailand-Africa Initiative (TAI) and called for stronger collaboration between the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (NTAC) and the Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA) to promote technical capacity and knowledge transfer.
The minister also commended the ongoing Thailand-Nigeria Sustainable Agricultural Technology Development Project, proposing its expansion to more parts of Nigeria while urging increased cooperation in agricultural research, technology and innovation.
She reaffirmed Nigeria’s desire to elevate its relations with Thailand to a strategic partnership, with economic cooperation as a key pillar.
According to her, Nigeria was seeking to diversify bilateral trade beyond existing exchanges in crude oil, rice and agricultural machinery, while encouraging increased Thai investments and joint ventures in agro-processing, manufacturing, energy, information and communications technology (ICT), mining, renewable energy and other value-added industries.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu highlighted Nigeria’s large consumer market and investment opportunities, urging Thai businesses to take advantage of the country’s investment incentives and growing economic potential.
She also advocated the establishment of a Joint or Bi-National Commission to Institutionalize bilateral economic dialogue, monitor the implementation of agreements and accelerate the conclusion of pending instruments.
These include the Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, Trade Agreement, and Agreement on Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation.
The minister further called for closer engagement between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), noting that stronger regional cooperation could unlock new opportunities for trade, investment and development.
She reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to building a stronger economic partnership with Thailand through increased trade and investment, technical cooperation and regular high-level engagements.
On his part, Phuangketkeow described Nigeria as a major economy in Africa and said a strategic economic partnership between both countries would boost investment and trade while positively impacting the lives of their citizens.
He expressed Thailand’s readiness to strengthen economic ties with Nigeria and pursue areas of mutual interest for the benefit of both countries.
