Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Feb. 8, 1996, edition 1 / Page 35
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imports. The volume of U.S. trade with Nigeria is bound to increase within the next few years, as the huge Nigerian market extends to West Africa with the imple mentation of a regional liberalization system which pro vides for progressive elimination of trade barriers in West Africa. U.S. investment in Nigeria was worth 4 billion dollars in 1994, 90% of it in the petroleum sector. It is expected to increase with the recent and continuing discovery of off shore and on-shore petroleum deposits along the coast and in the interior of Nigeria. INVESTMENT INCENTIVES The Nigerian Government is implementing an economic recovery program involving guided deregulation of the foreign exchange and interest rates regimes, greater role for the private sector, increasing industrial production, revitalizing agriculture and mining of solid minerals. The Government has adopted an open door policy for foreign investment in any enterprise. It provides generous tax incentives and opportunities for repatriation of capital, profits and dividends, ensures protection of investment and allows the opening of domiciliary accounts which enables foreigners in Nigeria to maintain export proceeds in foreign currency. The Nigerian Government is also willing to enter into bilateral agreements with foreign countries to ensure mutual protection of investment. A similar agreement with the United States is being negotiated. With the abro gation of the Nigerian Enterprises Promotion Decree, the way has now been paved for reaching the agreement. Abrogated also is the Exchange Control Act of 1962. The two laws have been replaced by two decrees whose effect is to promote rather than restrict foreign investment: The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission Decree which facilitates investment and the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Monitoring Deeree which guarantees unimped ed transfer of funds in foreign currency in and out the country. INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES There are tremendous opportunities for investment in Nigeria, especially with the Government’s decision to diversify its resource base into mining of solid minerals, revitalization of agriculture and increase in industrial pro duction. In the agrieulture sector, which is still the backbone of Nigeria’s economy, the policy objectives are to increase food production to meet the requirement of a growing population, provide raw materials for our industries and grow more exportable cash crops to diversify the sources of our foreign exchange earnings. An appreciable proportion of total livestock and fish in Nigeria is imported. To meet the shortfall, all aspects of livestock and fisheries offer investment opportunities. In the forestry sub-sector, there is a tremendous scope for investment in establishing plantation and downstream investment in the production of plywood, board and fur niture. In the area of water resources, avenues are open to for eigners in the development of bore holes for water supply, dam construction, underground water resources develop ment, rural water supply and improvement of river chan nels. The petroleum sector has the highest growth rate. Petroleum was discovered in 1958 with a production capacity of 5,000 barrels per day rising to about 2.3 mil lion barrels per day by 1979. But, OPEC guidelines restrict the production to approximately 1.8 million bar rels. There are upstream opportunities for investors in exploration and production. Downstream activities include gas treatment and crude oil conversion into petro chemical products as well as transportation and market ing of the products. Opportunities exist for the construc tion of oil refineries under customs bond with adequate facilities for exports especially to the neighboring African countries. There are also tremendous opportunities for small joint ventures in manufacturing of oil by-products with foreign technical partners. Such ventures include warehousing arrangement that would ensure continuity of supply at competitive prices. Nigeria is preparing to implement a Natural Liquefied Gas Project (NLG) with the participation of the United States M.W. Kellogg Company. AIRPORT SECURITY Prospects for investment and trade between Nigeria and the United States would be enhanced by the resumption of direct commercial flights linking the two countries. Now that the Nigerian airport authorities have met all the security requirements by the United States Federal Aviation Authority, Nigerians look forward to their early resumption of direct commercial flights. COOPERATION AGAINST DRUG TRAFFICKING A vital area of cooperation between Nigeria and the United States is combatting international drug traffick ing. Though not a drug-producing or drug-processing nation, Nigeria is coneemed with the use of its territory as a transit point for drug trafficking from East Asia to Europe and the United States. The Nigerian Government is, therefore, leaving no stone unturned to fight drug traf ficking in cooperation with other countries, including the United States. Cooperation with the U.S. in this area of mutual concern has fundamentally improved since General Abacha assumed office as Head of State in November 1993. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) team in the U.S. is cooperating with the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in joint operation, trad ing and exchange of data. ■ ---Truly, Makers And I n 1990, Nigeria led the West African international peace keeping force which succeeded in drastical ly reducing the fighting in Liberia, created a safe haven in Monrovia and produced a favorable environ ment for the return to constitutionality in Liberia at a time when that country was the focus of U.S. policy in Africa and when American marines were transferred from that area to the Gulf. It is fitting that Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, should be the venue of the most suc cessful peace conference on Liberia resulting in the set ting up of a Transitional Interim National Government. Nigeria also participated and is still participating in peace keeping efforts in Bosnia, the Middle East, the Gulf Region, Rwanda, Somalia and Iraq, in many cases in partnership with the U.S. It votes with the U.S. on many issues in the United Nations including such deli cate matters as separation of Zionism from racism, and Haiti. It has led many African countries in resuming relations with Israel in 1992, and on several occasions, assisted the United States in combatting international terrorism. In March, 1995 a Nigerian military unit res cued an American, Mr. Tony Johnson, who had been held hostage by Chadian rebels. Nigeria’s internal problems should not constrain the United States and Nigeria from mutually benefitting from bilateral cooperation in the sphere of trade, invest ment, combatting drug trafficking, peace keeping oper ations, resolution of conflicts, or combatting interna tional terrorism. There are many countries with similar and even more serious problems in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America with which the U.S. enjoys mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields. Nigeria hopes that the United States of America will maintain its policy of supporting the process of nation building and democratization in Nigeria by cooperating with the Government of General Sani Abacha towards this end. NIGERIA: 35 YEARS IN GLOBAL PEACE KEEPING The Nigerian Armed Forces have participated and are currently participating in the following peace keeping operations: 1960-1964: (ONUC) United Nations Operation in Congo 1962-1963: (UNSF) United Nations Security Force in West New Guinea CCont’d on Next Page!
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Feb. 8, 1996, edition 1
35
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