The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said the global body is concerned about Nigeria’s multiple exchange rate regimes and its impact on international trade.
Okonjo-Iweala said this on Monday after and during her meetings with President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama.
Speaking with State House Correspondents after the meeting with the President, she said some member states of the WTO have complained about Nigeria invoking the balance of payment agreement to be able to conserve foreign exchange.
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She also urged Nigeria to encourage and push for more trade, adding that it was the only way the country can benefit from the WTO.
She equally urged Nigeria to add value to its products and exports as this will attract the rest of the world.
Speaking during her visit to Onyeama, Okonjo-Iweala said: “Nigeria stands to benefit by encouraging and pushing for more trade, becoming a bigger part of the multilateral trading system.
“And to do that, it has to produce more, add value to its products and export more.
“Right now, Nigeria has 0.3 per cent of world trade and 19 per cent of Africa’s trade.
“You could see that as very small, but you could also turn it around and see it as a big opportunity to make use of what has happened to the Africa Continental Free Trade.
“So, WTO will support Nigeria with capacity building and technical assistance to improve the quality of the products that we export.”
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