Nigeria has pledged to strengthen bilateral trade and investment with the Russia Federation. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony to bestow state awards on military personnel who fought in Syria, at the Kremlin in Moscow on December 28, 2017. / AFP PHOTO Prof Steve Ugbah, Nigerian Ambassador to the Russian Federation with concurrent accreditation to the Republic of Belarus, made the pledge when the Chairman Russia –Nigeria Council (RNBC), Mr Dmitry Osipove, visited him in Moscow. In a statement from the Nigerian Mission in Moscow on Thursday, Ugba noted that his primary goal was to open Russia for Nigeria to explore. Ugba informed the chairman that Nigeria with a population of almost 200 million people had the market and human resources; and was willing to engage more with Russia. The two sides discussed the state of cordial relations between Nigeria and Russia in terms of trade and investment and the ways forward for economic development of mutual benefits At the meeting, special attention was given to the level of business engagements between the two countries and also the opportunities. Both sides stressed the importance of working out mechanism for favourable conditions for direct contacts between Nigerian businessmen and their Russian counterparts The embassy said that the RNBC Chairman and the ambassador also agreed on the need for cooperation in fertilizer production, agriculture, oil and gas, mining among others. It stated that the duo also agreed on how to organise trade fairs and exhibitions in order to showcase both countries rich culture and resources.(NAN)

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/08/nigeria-pledges-to-strengthen-trade-investment-with-russia/