News in brief:
– Nigeria’s capital territory is partnering with Ireland to boost agriculture and create jobs.
– Abuja hopes to leverage its strong ties with Ireland and vast arable land to collaborate in specific agriculture areas to grow the economy.
The federal capital territory (FCT) of Nigeria has expressed readiness to partner the Republic of Ireland in a bid to boost the agricultural sector of the economy, thereby increasing the country’s food productivity and enhancing job creation.
This was disclosed in a statement from the office of the minister, Nyesom Wike, when he received the Irish Ambassador to Nigeria, Peter Ryan.
In the statement, signed by Wike’s Director of Press, Anthony Ogunleye, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) would leverage the strong ties between Nigeria and Ireland to collaborate in specific areas to grow the economy. He said the measures were necessary also in cutting down on unemployment rate in the FCT, and the rest of the country.
Furthermore, Wike expressed the zeal to partner with companies in Ireland where ICT hubs can also be built for the interest of the youth, as a means to check the rising unemployment rate. He noted the significance of agriculture to the development of the Nigerian economy. Also, he mentioned revealed the vast arable lands in the capital city that could be exploited by willing partners to boost Nigeria’s economy.
Additionally, the FCT minister expressed delight to partner with companies in Ireland to introduce technology-based agriculture in the nationâs capital.
In his response, the Irish Ambassador said that his country has a similar vision to that of the FCT administration. He noted that Ireland has a cultural hub in its largest chamber of commerce, known as the Dublin Smart City where collaboration exists between all the different partners in the city in the areas of business.
Ryan also revealed that the cultural footprint of Ireland is one of the reasons the country has become so attractive to overseas investors, and assured the FCT minister that he would be ready to connect the territory and its policymakers to the consortium of experts.
