The Federal Government on Tuesday said the volume of trade between Nigeria and South Korea plunged by 74 per cent within a two-year period.
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, specifically stated that the volume of trade between both countries dropped from $5m in 2018 to $1.3m in 2019.
In a statement issued in Abuja by his media aide, Ifedayo Sayo, the minister frowned on the development and called for improvement going forward.
Adebayo, who expressed concern over the decrease in the volume of trade between both nations, made the call while playing host to the South Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Kim Young-Chae.
The statement read in part, “The minister noted that the volume of trade between the two countries went down from $5m in 2018 to $1.3m in 2019.”
He said Nigeria and South Korea shared strong economic and investment ties with over 20 Korean companies presently operating in Nigeria.
Adebayo named some of the companies to include Samsung and Hyundai Heavy Industries.
The minister stressed the need for the South Korean embassy, Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and his ministry to work closely towards improving the volume of trade between the two countries.
He called on Korean investors to take advantage of the Nigeria’s involvement in the African Continental Free Trade Zone to invest in Nigeria so that they would have access to the large market on the African continent.
Adebayo told his visitors to encourage investors from South Korea to invest in the new special economic zones established by the ministry in each of the six geographical zones across the country.
The Korean ambassador promised to deepen the trade relations between the two countries and assured the minister that he would support government programmes.
