From Cyriacus Nnaji, Lagos
The Director–General/, Nigeria-Slovenia Chamber of Commerce, Uche Udungwor, has stated that the ‘Go Africa Project’ launched by the Slovenian Government was targeted at Nigeria because of her enormous natural resources, human capital, population advantage and her large market potentials.
Udungwor made the disclosure in his presentation at a Breakfast Business Forum of the Chamber which took place at TFC Place, Festac Town, Lagos, on Wednesday, September 27, 2023.
He said “in recent years, the Slovenian Government launched what it called ‘Go Africa Project’ The idea was to expand her economic and trade frontiers towards Africa. And in considering Africa, special attention was given to Nigeria in view of her enormous natural resources, human capital, population advantage and her large market potentials.”
The theme of the Forum was “Presentation of Slovenian Economy to Nigerian Entrepreneurs & Investors”.
Udungwor stated that the Nigeria–Slovenia Chamber of Commerce is a bilateral economic non-governmental organization established with the aim of building, promoting and facilitating trade and investment activities between Nigeria and Slovenia, adding that part of the objective is the reason for the forum.
The DG even though he described the Republic of Slovenia as a small country in Central Europe, with 2.1 million inhabitants, he said it is a country where various cultures and traditions have long come together, and today form a unique nation proud of its heritage, a forward-looking mindset and a positive, productive attitude.
“With its beautiful natural landscapes, ancient historical sites and modern facilities, friendly and talented people and dynamic entrepreneurs, it’s a great place to visit or live or do business,” Udungwor disclosed.
He said Slovenia today is a stable, vibrant democracy that offers a stimulating and low-risk business environment and represent a bridge between The Balkan, Central European and Western European Countries, all of which it is connected to by historical and cultural ties.
According to Udungwor, Slovenia has a very strong and sound economy with a GDP of 68.1 billion USD. “It is among the countries you can classify as Developed Economies. Its current GDP stands at 68.1 billion USD. Its major trade partners are drawn mostly from the traditional European countries like Germany, Austria, France, Italy and Russia.
“In 2022, its export stood at 11.04 billion Euros and imports about 7.5 billion euros including services. Slovenia, apart from being known as a knowledge economy, it is well known in the area of Automotive parts, Pharmaceuticals, Machineries/ Equipment and Electrical Appliances, Mining, Engineering and Construction, Organic Chemicals, Plastics, Agro and Allied, ICT, Renewable Energy,” he stated.
Odungwor noted that trading activities between Slovenia and Africa in general is on a downward trend, saying “A critical case in point is her trade activity with Nigeria. For instance, the current trade balance between Slovenia and Nigeria is around 10 million Euros. Also, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database, Slovenia’s imports from Nigeria in 2022 stood at 5.7 million USD.”
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