A Russian Government delegation and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) are exploring areas of possible cooperation.
The Russian Government and its Trade Mission met their Nigerian counterparts at an event organised by the LCCI tagged RuNiTrade (Russia and Nigeria Trade launch), an e-commerce platform where areas of possible cooperation were discussed.
LCCI President Mrs. Nike Akande said Nigerian and Russian economies are similar in some ways, saying that both are oil producing countries and rich in natural gas. She, however, noted that the Russian economy is much bigger and more advanced technologically.
Stressing the need to diversify the Nigerian economy through increased global trade, Akande regretted the low level of trade between the countries. She pointed out that with closer cooperation between the private sector of both economies, the level of trade could be improved.
“We can benefit a lot from Russian technology in many fields. There are also tremendous opportunities for cooperation and investment relations in infrastructure development, especially power and engineering infrastructure,” she said, adding that LCCI was excited by its collaboration with the Russian business on the e-commerce platform.
She said the launching of the platform will further boost trade and investment relations between both countries. “There is great value in deploying technology to promote trade. Already, e-comerce has gained wide acceptance in our retail trade sector,” Akande said.
She added that as a country, Nigeria has a lot to offer in business and economic ýrelations. She said, for instance, that the Nigerian economy offers the largest market on the African continent.
“Our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of over $500 billion is the largest in the continent. We are richly endowed in natural resources. Our macroeconomic fundamentals are still strong despite the current global issues with commodity prices.
“We have one of the most enterprising population in the world and our democracy is stable for the past 17 years,” she said, assuring that the Chamber would extend all necessary support toý improve trade and investment relations between both countries.
“I believe there is a great deal of benefit in the promotion of trade relations between countries. It makes it possible for countries across the world to complement one another. No country of the world has ýcompetitive advantage in everything,” Akande added.
The President, Russia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Vladimir Zubov, said a platform such as RuNiTrade has been a long awaited and necessary tool, which the business community needs not only in Russia but also in other developing countries.
He added that the project gives participants the opportunity to promote new products, which serves as a bold step forward for trade development, investments and international relationships between both countries.
“We are ready to support Business to Business (B2B)-RuNiTrade project on its way to success. I have high hopes for this project and I believe that according to the recent events and agreements reached on political and economic issues, we will work towards organizing more trade missions between our countries. This will help us continue the development of mutually beneficial partnership and cooperation in the area of trade and investment,” Zubov said.
Head, Russian Export Centre, Mr. Pavel Borisov, in his presentation encouraged Nigerian businesses especially those in banking and insurance to key into the programme. He said Russia has engaged smaller countries such as South Africa and Sudan in various segment of the economy. He said since his country shares certain similarities with Nigeria any partnership would be mutually beneficial.
