Economic Confidential

The Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Chris Cooter, has said that Canada is currently working on strategies aimed at increasing its foreign direct investment in Nigeria within the next few years due to enhanced confidence in the Nigerian economy.
Cooter disclosed this during a meeting with Nigeria’s Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, in Abuja.

Present at the meeting were senior executives of SNC Lavalin, Canada’s biggest engineering and construction company, led by the company’s Executive Vice-President, Mr. Michael Novak, and Senior Vice-President, Product and Market Growth, Dr. Mark Hall.

He noted that as part of efforts to strengthen trade and investment relationship between the two countries, more Canadian companies had already indicated their willingness to invest in infrastructural projects across Nigeria.

The Minister explained that the move was a follow-up to the Nigeria-Canada Bi-National Commission meeting held between the Minister of Trade and Investment; Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, in Abuja recently.

He said “Two weeks ago, the Nigeria –Canada Bi-National Commission met in Abuja and the centrepiece of that Bi-National Commission was how to build and strengthen economic relationships between Nigeria and Canada. This is one of the reasons we have brought the Senior Executives of SNC Lavalin, one of the leading engineering and construction companies in Canada, and top five in the world. They have been in Nigeria before, in fact, they were here about 25 years ago. That time they thought that this was not the best place to invest.

“Today, there is a wind of change going on in Nigeria’s investment landscape, which is being driven by the Minister of Trade and Investment. Therefore, we are looking at areas where Canadian companies can invest in Nigeria and how they can form partnerships in Nigeria in line with the Nigeria-Canada Bi-National Commission.”