The newly appointed Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Saturday, arrived Nigeria on a five-day working visit, about two weeks after she assumed leadership of the global body.
The visit, designed to enable her appreciate the support of the federal government towards her emergence would see her hold discussions with President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, March 15.
Also, she has been scheduled to engage other top players in public and private sectors, including ministers on how to leverage the WTO and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to improve trade and the economy.
The former Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, who arrived the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja via an Ethiopian airliner with registration number, ET 911, which touched down at exactly 12pm was received by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Nasir Sani-Gwarzo and other top officials of the ministry.
Okonjo-Iweala was accompanied on the visit from Geneva, Switzerland by some ambassadors, including those from the Republic of Barbados and Cameroon.
Shortly after the airport formalities at the presidential wing of the airport, she was driven in a motorcade to her private residence in Abuja.
In a brief interview with journalists, the WTO DG said her visit was to see how to better leverage the WTO and AfCFTA to assist Nigeria and entrepreneurs to improve the economy, expressing optimism that Nigeria could use the AfCFTA to boost trade and investment
She said: “I am not going to give you all the points for the visit today; I know you want them. But what we are trying to do indeed is how to boost Nigeria’s share of trade in Africa. We hope to be able to use the African Continental Free Trade Agreement to improve our trade, and of course, to do that you have to improve our investment.
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