Jumoke Olasunkanmi
The Federal Government of Nigeria has called on the Republic of Korea to invest more in Nigeria’s mining and energy sectors to facilitate development and diversify the economy.
Abbas Tajudeen, the Speaker, House of Representatives made the call on Tuesday while playing host to a delegation from South Korean Embassy to Nigeria and the 21st National Assembly of the Republic of South Korea in Abuja to seek Nigeria’s support for the Asian country’s World Expo 2023 hosting bid.
Speaking on the purpose of the visit, the Special Envoy of South Korea’s national assembly, Hon Hun Seung said, “We have a purpose for this visit. The speaker of the National Assembly of South Korea sent us to ask for your assistance to successfully hold the World Expo in Korea. Our economies are quite complementary with each other,” he said, stressing that the free trade agreement between the two countries could be improved.,” he said.
According to him, the final vote on the hosting right for the global exhibition is coming up in September. “If you help us we will also help you,” he said, adding that he was looking forward to a strengthened collaboration between South Korea and Nigeria.
Responding, speaker Abass assured the Korean delegation of Nigeria’s support noting that Nigeria’s relation with South Korea has been strong since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.
He added that the 9th House of Representatives established a Nigeria-South Korean parliamentary friendship group to promote exchange of ideas, legislative practices and procedures, and parliamentary procedure to boost the capacity development of members and staff.
“The 10th house has also reconstituted the Nigeria-Korea friendship group to broaden our parliamentary relations and promote mutual understanding and corporation in the areas of capacity development and investments.
“With over 20 Korean companies in Nigeria including Samsung, LG, and Daewoo, and investment worth over $ 2 billion, it is an enormous contribution to the economy of Nigeria. The recent Korean government supply of a vessel to the Nigerian navy confirms the deep mutual relations which the 10th House everything to sustain,” he said.