Director-General, World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says the WTO will support Nigeria in capacity building and technical assistance to improve the quality of exportable products and empowerment of women entrepreneurs.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala who said this at a reception in her honour by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama said the country stands to benefit from WTO by becoming a part of the multilateral trading system through encouraging and pushing more trade activities.
“Nigeria has to do more, add value to its products and export more. Right now, Nigeria has 0.3% of World Trade and 19% of Africa Trade, see it as a big opportunity to make use of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA)”, she said.
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Barbados to the World Trade Organisation, Chad Blackman, at the reception, said the government of Barbados would strengthen bilateral ties with Nigeria in trade and investment and cultural cooperation, noting that Nigerians need no Visa to access Barbados.
He said the appointment of Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was a pride to Africa, “she made history by becoming the first female Director-General of the WTO.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama said Nigeria would support the Director-General to excel in her assignment, saying her success was a ‘global success’.
RN