(l-r) The Special Adviser to the Governor on Investment Promotions and Public-Private Partnership, Dr Green Amankwe, and the Commissioner for Trade and Commerce, Mr Kingsley Nwokocha, at a news briefing in Umuahia on Wednesday on the proposed Türkiye-Abia Investment Summit and Exhibition, slated for November.
The Abia Government has announced plans to host a Türkiye-Abia Investment Summit and Exhibition in a strategic move to boost international trade and attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDI).
Dr Green Amakwe, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Investment Promotion and Public-Private Partnerships, disclosed this at a news briefing in Umuahia on Wednesday.
Amankwe said that the event would focus on a multi-faceted investment promotion drive to strengthen economic relations with Türkiye and other key partners.
He described the event as FDI exposition for international and local investors to explore the state’s areas of comparative advantage, as a preferred investment destination in Nigeria and Africa.
He also said that the event would position Abia as a hub for export-oriented and industrial investments across a wide range of sectors.
Amankwe said that the government was targeting high-potential areas, including agriculture and agro-allied industries, textiles, footwear and leather, gas, energy, solid minerals, warehousing, and infrastructure.
He said, “Our goal is to promote Abia as an attractive destination for sustainable investments that will drive inclusive economic growth and job creation.”
Amankwe said that a core part of the strategy involved fostering bilateral cooperation between Abia and Turkish investors, building on the strong diplomatic relations and positive perception of Turkish products and businesses among Nigerians.
He also expressed the readiness of the government to explore collaborative opportunities between Abia and other Nigerian states, working jointly to attract Turkish investments into larger, integrated projects.
“We are not just building investment partnerships; we are creating a new economic identity for Abia, one that is competitive, reliable, and investor-friendly,” he also said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Abia Government, in partnership with Vega Growing Global Enterprises, is currently working on organising the event, which will run from November 25 to November 27.
Miss Elif Durdu, Turkish Deputy Ambassador to Nigeria
NAN also reports that Turkish Deputy Ambassador to Nigeria, Elif Durdu, recently said that Türkiye was working to drastically scale up its current 40 billion dollars volume of trade with Africa, and its 1 billion dollars bilateral trade volume with Nigeria.
She said that Türkiye was exploring ways to increase the Turkish-Nigeria trade volume to five billion dollars.
Durdu noted that Türkiye and Nigeria were significant players in their respective regions but the current volume of trade between them did not reflect their potentials.
The envoy said records had shown that the two countries could offer much more in terms of bilateral trade relations, adding that this could only be done by scaling up their trade ties.
She said that Türkiye was already deliberately putting in place measures that would attract massive Turkish investments to Nigeria and other African countries.
“Türkiye is striving to address this issue by increasing bilateral contacts, alongside attracting Turkish investments to Nigeria.
“Türkiye, through her Africa Partnership Policy, also aims to promote the trade volume with the African Continent.
“This is around a total of 40 billion dollars as of 2024, and Nigeria plays a special role in that goal,” she said.
According to the Turkish envoy, there are many Turkish companies already operating in Nigeria, which are fully engaged in multi-million dollar businesses and projects.
For instance, she said, Hayat Kimya, a Turkish company operating in Ogun, had invested about 200 million dollars in the production of chemical and hygienic products, toilet papers, and dypers.
Durdu further said that Ülker, another Turkish company, invested around 50 million dollars in the production of biscuits and chocolates under the brand name, Mcvitie’s.
The deputy ambassador added that Direkçi, a Turkish trading company, also invested about 22 million dollars in four Nigerian states of Jigawa, Niger, Kano and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
“The main project areas of this company are farming, livestock, poultry and soya beans production.
“In addition, Turkish large scale construction companies, along with the ones that are active in the energy sector, are willing to take part in important infrastracture projects in Nigeria.
“The total cost of completed construction projects of various Turkish companies in Nigeria is about 2.8 billion dollars,” she added.(NAN)
