By: HighCelebritySquard
Irish Nigerian Partnership Investment Conference is a 3-day business gathering that will focus on bringing together entrepreneurs, captains of industries, and government agencies together to initiate conversation on short, medium and long term trade investment opportunities for Nigeria and the Republic of Ireland.
It aims to target areas such as Aviation, Education, Technology, Agriculture and Resilient Infrastructure. This conference will awaken the age long historical ties between Ireland and Nigeria and aim to improve the quality of this relationships through business discussions, collaborations, networking and partnerships. It is worthy of note that Ireland is currently the only English speaking country in the European Union which makes it the amazon of the EU and a potential African trade hub that could foster strong ties in connecting Nigeria to other parts of Europe and the UK.
One of the objectives of the conference is to identify barriers and challenges, such as; the operation of direct flights between Nigeria and Ireland despite inherent numerous advantages.
Thus, it is to initiate discussions on how to achieve bilateral trade agreement between the two countries and most especially to discuss how the diaspora can be a progressive instrument of change in achieving successful business networks and enduring trade ties between the two countries.
Nigeria, as the population and economic powerhouse of Africa is an attraction for many Irish investors who are looking for new grounds to break. The conference will therefore showcase the good qualities of both countries, the power of collaboration, partnership and networking for old and emerging CEOs. Over the years, Nigerian people have looked towards the UK, France, Asia, the US and Canada. We in Ireland says it is time to spread our tentacles and expand our horizon to the opportunities that abound in the Irish space and to begin to look seriously into building good trade relationships with Ireland and the Irish people, with the intent to re-invigorate the age-long historical ties between the two countries that is virtually almost lost. We can proudly recall the Guinness and Irish investments in the Nigerian education system in the past. The proposed conference intends to re-awaken these ties and build it to sustainable bilateral trade partnership that would be mutually benefitting. It is also good to know that the Nigerian population in Ireland is growing rapidly, with the youths taking up strategic positions in FinTech industries, music, education, arts and human resources. It is hoped that the conference will accord them rooms to expand their horizons to explore and annex the opportunities that abound both in Nigeria and in Ireland.
The conference is not a one-off event but a partnership engagement between Nigeria and Ireland and it is one of the many interactions that we hoped to achieve in coming years. It is worthy of note also that we have in existence Irish companies and institutions already partnering with Nigerian businesses and institutions of higher learning, such as the Ornua Group which is the home of Irish dairy including Kerry Gold, we also have the Newcastle Aerodrome that is currently training some Nigerians (both military and civilian) to become pilots with international certifications and many more. We intend to build on these and explore other areas like agriculture, aviation (direct flights), infrastructure and security.
We appreciate the current Irish Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency, Mr Peter Ryan who is actively in support of this initiative, and aims to bridge the gap between the two countries by creating enabling environment for both communities to thrive. He believes in mutual existence, working together, and appreciates the power of networking and collaboration. His goals are to achieve a reasonable sense in building Community, Commerce and Collaboration.
The initiative also seeks to leverage on the proposition by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during his inaugural speech that Nigeria is opened to foreign investments. Thus the intendment of the conference is to align with the vision and mission of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in fostering robust engagements between public and private investors both in Ireland and Nigeria, as well as with diaspora communities across the globe, beginning with those in Ireland.
