President Bola Tinubu says bilateral partnerships must be mutually beneficial, transformative and translate into real gains for ordinary citizens.
Tinubu said this at the Nigeria-Netherlands Business and Investment Forum in The Hague, on Thursday in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
He said Nigeria and the Netherlands must explore more creative channels of collaboration, through partnerships, joint ventures and strategic alliances.
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The president said this would enable building of bridges to connect markets and facilitate the flow of goods, services, ideas and the people.
He said his administration was enhancing the business environment in Nigeria to make it very friendly through various reforms.
Such reforms, he said, included the cleaning up of the foreign exchange market to make it more transparent for seamless business transactions and removal of the fuel subsidy.
The reforms also include the readiness of the Central Bank of Nigeria to provide the necessary window to allow foreign companies repatriate their profits.
Tinubu said the improved business environment in Nigeria was making the country an investors’ paradise, urging investors to take advantage of these opportunities for mutually rewarding economic partnerships.
“I wish to state here that we must also ensure that the partnerships are creative and transformative in such a manner that the ordinary citizens of our countries can reap verifiable gains.
“It is on record that Nigeria and the Netherlands have established business ties for decades. There is every need to re-invigorate this relationship. This is a call for creativity on the part of all of us,” the President said.
Noting the long history of diplomatic relations between Nigeria and the Netherlands, the President called for the forging of stronger bonds in diplomacy, commerce, innovation and enterprise.
“Our countries possess unique strengths and resources. It is through collaboration that we can harness these strengths, unlock new opportunities, and drive economic development.
“We must endeavour to replicate the success stories of various Dutch companies and enterprises by learning and sharing their experiences and approaches for the benefit of all.
“As the world braces up for today’s economic challenges, which in many ways affect our two countries, a creative approach to the search for investment-minded solutions will prove to be the most viable path to the level of sustainable development that we all desire.
“I believe that we must endeavour to push this narrative into our daily business activities and to move toward industrial value addition, agribusiness, innovative technology, green energy, marine economic expansion, as well as solid mineral exploitation and processing,” he said.
Tinubu stressed that relations between Nigeria and the Netherlands would henceforth set a new tone and foundation for stronger economic ties between both countries.
