A one-day investment forum aimed at opening up opportunities in Nigeria’s energy, power and infrastructure sectors to South Korean investors opened in Seoul, South Korea, Monday.
The forum was declared open by Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan, who is in South Korea to attend the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS).
President Jonathan said at the opening of the forum that in his quest to bring genuine investors into Nigeria, “a world of shared prosperity is our common goal.”
He told the forum of his intention to embark on “an ambitious project “ in which Nigeria would see a replica of the “miracle of the Han River (South Korean)” and pursue accelerated policies that will “reciprocate the South Korean miraculous growth in Nigeria.
”We will borrow a leaf from the Korean experience to transform Nigeria into one of the 20 largest economies by the year 2020,” the Nigerian leader said. ”The growth of your economy despite not having any natural resources is something we want to repeat in Nigeria with our abundant resources.”
President Jonathan said the growth he envisaged would be anchored on a diversified economy that will drive Nigeria away from an oil dependent economy and from a government controlled economy to a private sector led one.
The investment forum, organised by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in conjunction with the Nigerian Embassy, Seoul, is being attended by top Korean investors, two Nigerian state governors and many government ministers.
