By Cynthia Ezekwe.
The Global Diversity Export Initiative (GDEI) trade mission to South Africa, Ghana, and Nigeria, has reiterated its commitment to deepen and sustain connections between U.S. and African companies in order to foster an enabling environment for increased trade and investment deals.
Marisa Lago, under-secretary of commerce for international trade, U.S. Department of Commerce and former assistant secretary of d’Affaires, U.S. Mission to Nigeria, stated this at a recent digital briefing monitored by Business A.M.
Lago noted that the GDEI trade mission serves as a foundational means of building business-to-business relationship, between U.S. and African companies, and an important mechanism to foster ties that lead to concrete trade and investment deals.
As regards ongoing efforts to deepen the U.S.-Africa trade and investment relationship and identify new commercial opportunities, Lago stated that the Biden-Harris administration has made a renewed commitment to deepening engagement across the African continent, adding that vision for deepened engagement with Africa entails a lot more than just high-level visits.
“We are laser-focused on delivering tangible results across all dimensions of our bilateral relationship, as well as our partnerships with subnational and pan-African institutions,’’ she said.
Speaking on the core reason South Africa, Ghana, and Nigeria were the three African countries selected for the GDEI trade mission,the under secretary explained that the organisation was looking to ensure that it included some of the largest economies on the African continent. She explained further that the move was to partner with countries whose economies had a strong presence in sectors that had strong prospects for U.S. companies.
On how the GDEI trade mission initiative would benefit Nigeria and other target countries in Africa, the under secretary said, “We know that in the United States, there are communities that have historically not been able to benefit as fully from the benefits of two-way trade and investment. By tapping into our diaspora communities, by tapping into our women-led businesses, we think that we will have the opportunity to engage with countries across the African continent, and by doing so, take advantage of these diaspora ties – these ties of culture – and again, by doing so, expose U.S. companies, including some very small companies but with very cutting-edge solutions, to the opportunities that are present here in Africa.’’
On his part, David Greene, Chargé d’Affaires, U.S. Mission to Nigeria, noted the GDEI trade mission offers an exciting time in the U.S.-Nigeria bilateral relationship, especially on the economic front, with the Tinubu administration taking and undertaking some of the structural changes which have been seen as avenues to create the foundation for new influxes of U.S. capital investment and increase two-way trade with Nigeria.
“Nigeria’s home to Africa’s largest democracy, population, and economy, and we really believe that Nigeria’s economic growth will bring stability and prosperity not only for the Nigerian people but also across West Africa, where Nigeria is such an economic heavyweight, through cross-border expansion and economic integration, including under the African Continental Free Trade Area. So the United States remains committed to an enduring partnership with Nigeria, one centered on our aspirations for shared prosperity and mutual economic growth,’’ Greene remarked.
He noted that the trade mission is one of the avenues through which the U.S. is seeking to advance various initiatives to advance business and trade ties and investment ties with the continent, specifically Nigeria.
“Nigeria is an enormous and diverse country and with opportunity and potential everywhere, and it’s certainly part of what we consider our mission to take advantage of every opportunity we have to get out to the different states and the different regions to understand what’s happening, especially in the tech sector, which, as was pointed out, is sort of everywhere,’’ he said.
