Nigeria, Canada move to revive stalled bilateral agreement

The governments of Nigeria and Canada have started moves to
revive a stalled bilateral agreement between the two countries
during the courtesy visit of the new Canadian High Commissioner to
Nigeria, Mr. Philip Baker, to Industry, Trade and Investment
minister, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, in Abuja last week.

Baker, who expressed delight to be in Nigeria after working in
Ethiopia, said Canada is ready to collaborate with Nigeria in key
areas like mining and aviation in which his country is well
developed.

He commended the minister on the country’s efforts and
achievements on the ease of doing business and on the economy.

He said the task before him is to increase trade between the two
countries as a means of building future relationships and therefore
sought to know what they could do together.

Welcoming the High Commissioner, Enelamah said he believed his
African experience will be useful during his work in Nigeria and
appreciated the relationship between the two countries, noting that
they must make it count.

“We will collaborate with you, we will work with you,” the
minister assured.

Earlier, the High Commissioner had raised the issue of the
stalled bilateral treaty and called for a resolution.

A Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPPA)
was signed by Nigeria and Canada in May 2014, which Canada ratified
that same year.

Nigeria, however decided not to ratify the agreement because it
was later found stilted and not consistent with Nigeria’s 2016
Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) model.

Nigeria has therefore requested for the amendment or
renegotiation of the agreement.

Explaining Nigeria’s position, Yewande Sadiku, Executive
Secretary of Nigeria Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), said
under a country-focused investment promotion strategy, NIPC had
undertaken diligent process of identifying countries that are
strategic to Nigeria’s quest for direct investments.