From Olukayode Idowu, Abuja
France-Nigeria Business Council will be meeting on the sidelines of the 4th Choose France International Business Summit, which commenced yesterday in Versailles, France.
It will be bringing together around 15 French business leaders with a strategic business presence in Nigeria or who hope to implement projects in the West African country and six of Nigeria’s most prominent business leaders who have been invited to the Summit.
At the France-Nigeria Business Council meeting, led by the Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, Franck Riester, French companies will have the opportunity to showcase their expertise to Nigerian leaders, with a view to identifying new partnerships.
It will be closed by the President of the Republic.
The France-Nigeria Business Council was launched by President Macron during his visit to Nigeria in 2018. It aims to help expand and deepen the France-Nigeria economic relationship through enhanced discussions between Nigerian and French private sector actors.
The Council focuses on tangible economic projects in various sectors. The first project to be discussed in this forum came to fruition thanks to an agreement between the companies Axens and BUA for the construction of a new refinery in Nigeria, in compliance with higher environmental standards.
Twenty-two new investment projects, totally €3.6 billion, expected to create 7,000 jobs are to be birthed at the meeting.
It is expected that some 24 new investment projects will be announced by the foreign companies invited to the 2021 Choose France Summit, totalling €3.5 billion and more than 7,000 new jobs.