Consul General of Italy in Lagos, Ugo Boni, said that the economic potential between Italy and Nigeria has not been fully explored. He said this at the Ambassadorial Forum themed, ‘Diplomatic and Economic Relations between Italy and Nigeria’ organised by the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) held in Lagos yesterday.
He reiterated that Nigerian and Italian economies have a lot of growth to explore especially as one of the top priorities of Nigeria is to expand its industrial sector.
He stated that Nigeria and Italy have an equally distributed trade volume of $3 billion per year, adding that one of the country’s priorities should be diversification of its list of exports to Italy.
Boni stressed that Italy, being one of the biggest producers of machinery for industrial products, has a lot to offer Nigeria.
“To optimise production and become effective Nigeria would have to cooperate with many partners and I think Italy can play a very important role to achieve this,” he added.
He noted that the Italian government has taken measures to solidify its commitment and collaboration with Africa, through the Mattei plan for Africa, a comprehensive plan that aims to shape cooperation between Italy and African countries.
According to him, agriculture, packaging and technology are the most promising industries in both countries that can forge stronger partnerships on.
“Nigeria is already very advanced and is one of the hubs in Africa for IT so Italian countries would be very interested in that,” he added. He explained that the consulate in 2024 opened an office of an Italian trade agency in Lagos with the specific task of promoting foreign trade and select Nigerian entrepreneurs and who would partake in trade fairs in Italy as well as coordinate Italian visitors coming to Nigeria.
Director-General of the NIIA, Prof. Eghosa Osaghae, acknowledged that Italy is one of the oldest bilateral partners of Nigeria as their relationship dates back to 1961. He noted that Nigeria is currently undergoing reforms with external implications crucial for its search for domestic and foreign investments.
