Nigeria's Ambassador, Prof. Shehu Wants Russia to Invest in Nigeria

On September 21, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation Sergey Katyrin met with the Ambassador of Nigeria to Russia, Professor Abdullahi Shehu.

In his welcoming speech, the head of the federal chamber noted that in order to build up cooperation between the two countries, one should know each other better. “We can share the information received from you with other regional chambers of commerce, of which there are about one hundred and eighty. The Chamber also regularly hosts country and company presentations, which the Nigerian side can take advantage of.

Exhibition activity is another important form of information exchange. Such opportunities are provided by the Expocentre Fairgrounds. Thus, there are all the necessary tools for mutually beneficial cooperation.

Ambassador Abdullahi Shehu, who arrived in Russia this year, noted that since Nigeria gained independence, our two countries have maintained stable relations. According to him, the two countries could achieve more in their economic cooperation if Russian business showed more interest in Nigeria and Africa in general. “For any Russian companies, Nigeria is the gateway to Africa,” the ambassador said. As an example, he cited the Russian company Uralchem, one of the largest companies in the mineral fertilizers market and the second largest producer of nitrogen fertilizers in Russia.

The Nigerian Ambassador called on other Russian companies to follow the example of Uralchem ??and not only deliver goods to Nigeria, but also produce them in that country. The diplomat also said that the embassy intends to organize a business mission to Nigeria in the near future, and offered the RF Chamber of Commerce and Industry to assist in organizing trips for interested businesses.

Abdullahi Shehu stressed that the embassy is ready to organize regular trips of representatives of Russian companies to Nigeria in order to better know the conditions of work in this country, to understand the risks that exist there, because without risks, as he put it, there is no business environment.

Dmitry Konyaev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Uralchem, who was present at the meeting, was elected as the new Chairman of the Russia-Nigeria Business Council in May 2021, said that the company would soon open its representative office in Nigeria and intend to open a plant. He also noted the great potential of the Nigerian market for the supply of mineral fertilizers. At the same time, he noted the importance of exporting Russian knowledge and technology to this African country. Dmitry Konyaev invited the Nigerian side to send young people to Russia to study, who could study agricultural specialties in Russian universities.