The 2023 Nigeria-Belgium-Luxembourg Business Forum will hold from June 7 to June 9, in Belgium and Luxembourg. The theme of the Forum is “Building Sustainable Partnerships in the Non-oil Sector”.
The event is being hosted by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and the European Union.
In Belgium, the Forum will be held at the Tangla Hotel Brussels, while in Luxembourg, the event will hold at the Novotel Luxembourg Centre, Luxembourg. According to information gathered from the official website of the event – www.nblbusinesforum.com, some of the objectives of the Forum include:
a. Promoting Nigeria as an attractive destination for investment.
b. Increasing bilateral trade relations between Nigeria and Belgium/Luxembourg;
c. Attracting Foreign Direct Investment into the Nigerian economy;
d. Sensitizing Belgium and Luxembourg business communities on the opportunities available in the Non-oil sector of the Nigerian economy;
e. Building partnerships and enhancing contact between businesses
f. Building sustainable business partnerships between the government and private sectors of Nigeria, Belgium, and Luxembourg.
Speakers include H.E. Ambassador Obinna .C. Onowu, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the Kingdom of Belgium, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and Head of the Nigerian Delegation to the European Union and to the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States; . Dr. Ezra Yakusak, Executive Director/CEO, The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC); Prof Adesoji Adesugba, Managing Director, Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA); Mr. Johan Malin, Project Manager, International Financial Institutions, Dept. of International Trade, FLANDERS INVESTMENT & TRADE; Mr. Joeri Colson, Deputy Director, FINEXPO; Mr. Dirk Verbeke, Sales Director, TELEVIC, Mrs. Patricia Leers, Managing Partner, Attorney at Law, Head International Department, A-Law International Law Firm, Mr. Anene Johnson, Representative Abuja – Belgium Luxembourg Nigeria Chamber of Commerce.
Nigeria is the largest trading partner of the European Union, accounting for 60% of the EU’s trade with West Africa. However, the trade between most of the countries in Europe has been largely traditional: Oil and Gas. This is the same with Belgium.
With the rebasing of the Nigerian economy in 2014, it was observed that oil accounted for 12% of the country’s GDP, less than the contribution of Agriculture, Information Technology, Trade, Entertainment and Services. The Non-oil sector of the Nigerian economy has since then, been contributing substantially to the growth and most times about 85% to the GDP of the country.
Consequently, the Federal Government continued to diligently pursue the flagship programme, the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) (now replaced by the National Development Plan 2021-2025), aimed at stabilising and diversifying the economy. The Federal Government identified agriculture and food security, power, industrialisation, employment, and products such as cotton, cement, palm oil, shea butter, and petrochemicals amongst others, as areas of intervention in a bid to improve the export base and revenue generation.
In furtherance of the policy of the Nigerian government to promote the non-oil sector of the economy, the Nigerian Embassy in collaboration with partners including the Belgium Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce – Brussels and Abuja, A-Law Firm, Abuja Chamber of Commerce, Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce and Diplomatic Vista will convene a Business Forum under the Theme “Building Sustainable Partnerships in the Non-oil Sector” in two locations: Luxembourg and Belgium on the 7th, 8th & 9th June 2023 respectively.
The event sponsors are Mediport and Protex.
