At the recent European Union-Nigeria business forum held in Lagos, the French Agency for Development (AFD) approved €400 million ($508 million) to fund transport and energy initiatives in Nigeria.

Mr Hubert Dognin, Country Director for the AFD, disclosed this adding that the agency would go ahead to determine projects that suit the criteria.

“At the regional level, we have €400 million ($508 million) available for transport and energy and at the national level, for the national indicative program, we have $150 million available to finance the energy sector,” he said.

Present at the forum, the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and the ECOWAS, Mr Michael Arrion, revealed that trading and bilateral relations between the EU and Nigeria had improved over the past 3 years.

“EU Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stock in Nigeria grew from €25.3 billion (N5.3 trillion) in 2011 to €27.2 billion (N5.7 trillion) in 2012. The EU is also Nigeria’s most important trading partner. In 2013 alone total EU-Nigeria trade stood at €40.4 billion (N8.5 trillion). EU imports from Nigeria were valued at €28.7 billion (N6 trillion) while EU exports to Nigeria stood at €11.8 billion (N2.5 trillion),” he said.

Going further, he indicated the need to improve on the relationship, expressing the willingness of the EU to improve the Nigerian business environment, while also providing some form of long term financing.

“Though Nigeria maintains a positive trade balance with the EU, and the EU remains the biggest market for both oil and non-oil exports such as leather cocoa, sesame, it is imperative to address the EU- Nigeria relationship towards a more diversified composition and a strengthened ECOWAS regional market,” he added.

In the context of recent attempts by the United States and Russia to boost trade with Africa, whose biggest trading partner has hitherto been China, this development can be interpreted as a response from the EU to maintain its presence in Africa and significant relationship with the biggest players on the continent.

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