British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr Richard Montgomery
By Mark Longyen
British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, says the country’s economic growth prospects are very bright, in spite of the prevailing global economic headwinds and trade tariff disruptions.
Montgomery made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr Richard Montgomery, with Mr Mark Longyen, Foreign Affairs Editor and Digital News Content Manager of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) during the interview in Abuja.
According to him, the UK, like many countries across the world, is facing economic headwinds, but the nation’s economy will bounce back stronger as global economic growth is currently lower than it has been in the past.
He explained that international trade regimes were currently going through adjustments due to a number of shocks that have happened in the global economy.
The envoy said the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which caused a spike in energy and food prices, affected many countries, which are still recovering from that.
“I think many countries across the world are facing headwinds, global economic growth is lower than it has been in the past.
“We also need to rearm because of what’s happening in our backyard, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, you’ve seen the drone incursions into not just Poland but also Romania.
“So we’re concerned about our security and all of this adds to global headwinds,” he said.
He said there was also a demographic shift going on in economies like the UK, other European and G7 countries, resulting in fiscal challenges necessitating paying for public services for ageing populations.
“What I’d say about the UK is that our prospects are very positive, including compared to competitors and I’d say that for three reasons.
“The first is that our economic fundamentals are really very strong.
“The second is our government has a reform programme, what’s called the plan for change, which is going to make the UK economy stronger,” he said.
“Thirdly, I’d say the UK has been particularly successful in the last year and a half in securing new trade agreements ahead of many other countries,” he said.
The High Commissioner listed the UK’s new major trading partners as the U.S., EU and China, with which it has had economic and financial dialogue, describing it as a constructive positive agreement.
“So, for those three reasons, I’m very optimistic about the UK’s economic growth picking up and I can go into details about all of those three areas.
“But in particular I’d say the fundamentals of the UK economy are incredibly strong.
“We’re one of the biggest reservoirs of capital in the world, the City of London is still a premier financial centre,” he said.
Montgomery said the UK has a huge human capital base, noting that in spite of having only two to three per cent of global GDP, its economy has 17 per cent of the world’s top universities.
The British economy, he further said, has a set of reforms that reduce red tape, which is a demonstration of its fiscal prudence that brings down interest rates.
He said government was focused on economic priorities with potential for growth, such as new industrial and trade strategies, which identify the areas where the economy would grow faster with government help.
“If you look at our relationship with our major trading box, the EU, China, and U.S., they’re going in a positive direction.
“Today if you look at the news you’d see these massive announcements by U.S. technology companies in the digital infrastructure of the UK.
“Microsoft has just announced 30 billion dollars over the next four years, mainly into artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure.
“Google has announced seven billion dollars over the next two years for similar investment,” he added.
He said the UK also has big comparative advantages, particularly in new technology, creative industries, financial services, access to capital, and a huge research base, which collectively underscore its growth potential.
The envoy therefore expressed confidence that the UK’s economy would be much stronger going forward, adding that its impressive economic fundamentals inspired optimism in its potential for growth.(NAN)
