NIGERIA-CANADA ECONOMIC RELATIONS

At the State Banquet in Honour of Prime Minister Jean Chretien of Canada

Abuja, 5 April, 2002

It is my honour and pleasure to welcome you on this your second visit to Nigeria during the life of our Administration. We deeply appreciate the support for our nascent democracy that was demonstrated by your first visit in November 1999. We recognise with appreciation that this present visit underlines your regard for the importance of bilateral relations between Canada and Nigeria and your special interest in NEPAD, the new African programme for comprehensive development.

Mr. Prime Minister, I am pleased to note that the export of goods and services from Canada to Nigeria has increased to 135 million US dollars in 2001, an increase of 50 per cent over 2000. No doubt, contacts between our two countries, in the last couple of years, has begun to yield results in our economic relations.

But the volume of trade between us is still low, particularly given the fact that trade relations dates as far back as colonial days. This Administration places a high premium on investment, and there is a lot more scope for Canadian firms in the tremendous potentials of our economy in areas such as privatization of our energy sector, telecommunication, aviation and hotel services.

This situation ought to improve with the formalization of the existing trade Agreement between the two countries. And we look forward to the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on Trade and Investment Cooperation signed during the Third Session of the Canada - Nigeria Joint Economic Commission. We appreciate your immediate positive response to our request for assistance in survey and mapping and military pilot training.

Mr. Prime Minister, we appreciate your regard for our leadership role in Africa and your willingness to work with us to tackle some of our continent’s problems, particularly in peace and conflict resolution. We are in the coming years hoping to count on continued cooperation between our two countries on multilateral issues within Africa and globally. In this regard, we appreciate your personal constructive contribution to the issue of Zimbabwe at the Commonwealth meeting.

We heartily welcome your enthusiasm, particularly in your role as the current Chairman of the G8, for the New African Partnership for Development, which is a main objective of your current visit to Africa. On behalf of other leaders from the sub-region, I extend our appreciation for the opportunity to discuss with you issues that are of much concern to us in Africa. We found your interest in Africa profound and the discussions were indeed fruitful. Let me also commend Canada’s generosity in providing additional fund in support of NEPAD’s objectives through the implementation of the G8 Africa Action Plan for the year 2000. We are hoping to count on you to persuade other members of the G8 and international development partners to emulate Canada’s example.

Mr. Prime Minister, we want peace and security in Africa. We want to entrench good policies, rule of law, good economic governance, human rights, transparency and accountability. These are our goals as we expect NEPAD to launch us into the 21^st century. In concert with the G8 Summit in Kananaskis Alberta Canada, the recently concluded United Nations Conference on Financing for Development held in Mexico, as well as the conference on Sustainable Development to be held in South Africa, have been fundamental steps in the right direction.

Mr. Prime Minister, as you are well aware, NEPAD is currently the most attractive basis of productive and viable interaction and cooperation between the international community and the continent of Africa. There is focus on NEPAD at all major international meetings where developmental issues are deliberated. Global expectations of NEPAD are indeed high. For a concept that is still very much on the drawing board, we are faced with the challenge of ensuring that the evolutionary process of NEPAD stays on course and will eventually be successful in attaining Africa’s developmental aspirations.

Mr. Prime Minister, I would like to continually place on record our profound gratitude for Canada's unalloyed solidarity for Nigeria during the dark days of military dictatorship. We observe with satisfaction how you so eloquently expressed your concern for the problems of under-development in your address at the World Economic Forum early this year. And, of course, we recall your Government’s commendable record of being the first to unilaterally cancel debts of impoverished developing countries. Mr. Prime Minister, we salute you as a true friend of the people of the developing world, and hope that your actions against the plight of poverty will find resonance among the industrialised nations.

Excellencies, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, please join me in proposing a toast to the good health of the Prime Minister, Monsieur Jean Chretien, and to a very long lasting relationship between Nigeria and Canada.