The Federal Government of Nigeria has inducted a committee to review the country’s trade policy.
According to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, the event marks a new trajectory on how Nigeria uses international trade and investment as veritable tools for economic growth and poverty reduction.
In a statement by his Special Assistant Media, Ifedayo Sayo, Adebayo said the major objectives of Nigeria’s trade policy, were first articulated in a document in 1989 under the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP); they were later revised in 2002, and has not been reviewed or revised since then.
His words, “We have begun a new phase in the ongoing efforts by the Ministry to review and update the National Trade Policy of Nigeria 2002, and ensure that the new trade policy framework reflects the very dramatic changes that have taken place in the global trade and economic policy landscape, especially the 2008/2009 global financial and economic crises, as well as the current health, economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is also the Ministry’s expectation that the updated trade policy of Nigeria document will effectively capture the nine core policy priorities of the recently launched Medium-Term National Development Plan 2021-2025.”
Adebayo listed the priorities to include building a thriving and sustainable economy; enlarging agricultural output for food security; attaining energy sufficiency in power and petroleum products; expanding transport and other infrastructure development.
