US Export Import Bank - Nigeria is one of the nine countries where the US Export Import Bank (U.S. EXIM) will be focusing its investments, once a memorandum of understanding (MOU) is signed between Nigeria and the US bank, the local media reported Wednesday. Even though the details of the MOU is sketchy, the report said Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, would sign for Nigeria while the President of U.S EXIM, Fred Hochberg, would sign for it.

“Our portfolio in Nigeria is small, but we want to see this increased significantly. We are interested in knowing how we can do this together. We want to see how Nigeria can benefit from the Goodluck Presidency in the next four years,' Hochberg said.

'We are ready to support in the area of infrastructure development. If we find the right projects, we can find the investments. There is no doubt that Nigeria is one of the largest markets in the world,” he added.

The Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, thanked the management of U.S. EXIM Bank for considering Nigeria as one of the countries for its increased portfolio.

“We are ambitious. We want to make big changes. The strategy going forward is to build our industrial base. Our intention is to grow the level of export significantly. Emphasis going forward will be value addition.

'Trade related infrastructure is critical to our growth. If we remove the challenges related to power, most costs related to production will be reduced. We require your assistance in this and other infrastructure related problems,' the minister added.

Pana 20/10/2011