Swiss minister’s Nigeria visit focuses on economic ties
Oil producer Nigeria is Africa's most populous country.
Keystone
Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann on Friday ended a two-day visit to Nigeria looking at opportunities to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries.
This content was published on
2 minutes
SDA-ATS/jc
Schneider-Ammann, who also holds the education and research portfolios, was accompanied to the capital Abuja and economic capital Lagos by a group of Swiss parliamentarians, members of cantonal governments and business representatives.
A ministry spokeswoman said the visit had come at an opportune time. Switzerland and its partners in the EFTA European Free Trade Association (including Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) in December signed a common statement of intent to boost economic cooperation with Nigeria, which is Africa’s most populous country with190 million inhabitants.
Nigeria is seeking particularly to improve its infrastructure, fight inequality and corruption as well as the humanitarian crisis in the northeast of the country, where there is an Islamic insurgency. Its biggest challenge is to create jobs for young people.
In Abuja, Nigeria’s Industry, Trade and Investment Minister Okechukwu Enelamah told the Swiss delegation of his country’s efforts to relaunch its economy, including reducing its dependence on oil.
Nigeria is a major oil producer and has since 2015 been Switzerland’s biggest oil supplier. In 2017, 45% of Swiss oil imports came from the former British colony.
However, Nigeria is just emerging from an economic recession caused by falling oil prices since 2014. Its GDP declined for seven consecutive quarters before registering a modest 0.8% growth last year.
Some 45 Swiss companies are currently present in Nigeria, according to officials. Together they employ nearly 9,000 people.
Schneider-Ammann now visits Ivory Coast, a francophone country of 27 million people, before leaving Africa on Sunday.
Popular Stories
More
Foreign affairs
What Trump’s return or a new Harris administration would mean for Switzerland
Should raw milk sales be banned or should consumers decide?
Swiss food regulations do not allow raw milk to be sold for direct consumption. However, a loophole allows 400 raw milk vending machines to do just that.
COP29: Swiss NGOs call for strong financial support
This content was published on
Ahead of COP29, Swiss NGOs call for wealthy nations to pay $1,000 billion a year to help other countries solve climate problems.
Real Swiss wages likely to rise in 2025, says UBS bank
This content was published on
Higher wages and falling inflation are likely to boost Swiss purchasing power, which will be dragged back by rising health premiums.
This content was published on
Switzerland has a new tectonic map at a scale of 1:500,000, containing updates to geometry, distribution and nomenclature of the tectonic units.
This content was published on
Swiss artist Daniel Spoerri, known for his artworks using leftover food with dirty cutlery and crockery, has passed away in Vienna at the age of 94.
Climate change tipped to alter Swiss avalanche patterns by 2100
This content was published on
Climate change is expected to result in fewer avalanches overall in Switzerland but to increase the danger of wet snow avalanches by 2100.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Is the Abacha accord a model for returning ‘dictator funds’?
This content was published on
Switzerland is cleaning up its image as a haven for “dirty money”, but NGOs have concerns about a recent agreement to return assets to Nigeria.
This content was published on
Switzerland, Nigeria and the World Bank have agreed on how the Swiss will return funds embezzled by former Nigerian leader Sani Abacha.
Swiss accounts blocked over suspected Nigerian oil bribery case
This content was published on
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has blocked various bank accounts in Switzerland regarding an alleged oil bribery scheme linked to Nigeria.
‘Switzerland has made progress in combating human trafficking’
This content was published on
More and more victims of human trafficking are being discovered in Switzerland according to the latest statistics from the Zurich-based Centre for Advocacy and Support for Migrant Women and Victims of Trafficking (FIZ). But such figures are approximate at best because many victims don’t dare to speak up. The organisation ACT212 set up its nationwide…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.