Nigeria’s economy unfavourable for Spanish investors, says envoy

Pablo Segrelles, economic and commercial counsellor at the embassy of Spain in Nigeria, says the current state of the Nigerian economy is discouraging to potential investors.

Speaking with NAN in Lagos on Tuesday, Segrelles said this year’s economic situation in Nigeria would adversely affect his country’s importation of oil, gas and other products from Nigeria.

“Until this year, the volume of trade between Nigeria and Spain was much larger than most people are aware of,” he said

“In 2015, Spain imported more than €4 billion worth of products from Nigeria. But this would be less this year because of the fall in prices of oil and the current economic situation.

“Even at this time of the year, Spain has not imported up to €300million worth of products from Nigeria.”

According to Segrelles, Nigeria’s current economic situation is really unfavourable for trade and business transactions between the two countries.

He also said Spanish companies that had indicated trade and investment interests in Nigeria were being discouraged by the current challenge of Nigeria’s foreign exchange policy.

The envoy also expressed optimism that there was the tendency for more Spanish companies to engage in long-term trade and investment with Nigeria, for the future.

“The current economic situation in Nigeria is reducing Spanish exports into Nigeria,” he said.

“But I think that in the long run, there would be a lot of Spanish companies that would do business or invest in Nigeria on long-term basis. We hope that in the long run, Nigeria’s current economic situation would recover.”

Nigeria established diplomatic relations with Spain in 1960.