WTO: Our ambition is to operate on world stage, says trade minister

Niyi Adebayo, minister of industry, trade and investment, says Nigeria’s trade agenda is to operate on the world stage, noting that the country has outgrown Africa.

Adebayo said this on Monday during an interview on Arise TV. 

Speaking on the emergence of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the new director-general of the WTO, the minister thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for insisting on her candidacy.

The WTO members, on Monday took the decision to appoint Okonjo-Iweala as the director-general of the WTO, at a special meeting of the General Council, following a selection process that initially included eight candidates.

“It is a thing of pride for us as Nigerians that a Nigerian, not only as a Nigeria but for the first time in history of the WTO, an African is occupying that position and not only is it in Africa for the first time, it’s also the first time a woman will occupy that position,” Adebayo said. 

“You can be rest assured that Nigeria’s ambition, now that we have one of us as the DG of WTO, is to trade on the world’s stage. We are out growing Africa, we want to play with the biggest in the world.”

On Nigeria’s role in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the minister said the country’s goal is to be a game changer on the continent. 

“The whole idea of us being part of AfCFTA is for Nigeria to be a game changer, and we are going to take advantage of that agreement,” he said. 

“We are opening up Nigeria especially in terms of manufacturing. What we are trying to do now is to create Nigeria as the manufacturing hub for Africa.

“We are spending a lot of money on infrastructure for special economic zones whereby there will be investment in manufacturing such that we will be that game changer, we will have goods manufactured here that would be traded all over Africa.”

He further said Nigeria is currently investing into infrastructure development such as independent power plants and solar power projects in order to actualise the continental trade pact. 

“The whole idea is that there is more than enough power for industries to operate maximally so that they produce the goods, employ the people and trade the goods all over Africa.”