Nigeria, US trade volume now N6trn, says Jonathan

Jonathan said this late Wednesday in Washington DC at a dinner held in his honour by the United States Chambers of Commerce and the Corporate Council on Africa.
He said the volume of trade would continue to grow with greater cooperation between Nigeria and its allies in the United States Government as well as private sector.
He stated that his administration welcomed the support of the US President Barrack Obama’s administration and both organisations for ongoing efforts to positively transform the Nigerian economy and ensure that it becomes one of the 20 largest economies in the world by the year 2020. The president, who urged greater direct investment in Nigeria from the United States, said recent developments had shown that Obama was right when he spoke last September of increasing international recognition of Nigeria’s role in the global economy.
Jonathan said: “Our economy has since been re-based and it is now the largest in Africa.  We are the 26th largest economy in the world and the largest trading partner of the United States in Africa. Latest figures show the volume of trade between Nigeria and the U.S. to be $36 billion and still counting.
“Between last year and now, we hosted the World Economic Forum on Africa (WEFA) which was attended by 1,000 participants from 70 countries.
The Forum attracted over $68 billion in investment to the African continent in the form of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs), as well as private and public investments targeted at projects that would foster the agriculture sector, improve infrastructure such as roads, railways, hospitals, education, skill development and ICT, across African countries.