The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Abbas Tajudeen on Tuesday called for more trade and technological relationships between Nigeria and the Republic of South Korea.
He particularly called for more investment by the Asian country in Nigeria’s energy and mining sectors.
Speaker Abbas made the call when a delegation from South Korean Embassy to Nigeria and the 21st National Assembly of the Republic of South Korea visited him at his office in Abuja on Tuesday to seek Nigeria’s support for the Asian country’s World Expo 2023 hosting bid.
On the delegation were the Ambassador of South Korea to Nigeria Kim Young-Chae, who led officials of the Foreign Mission; and the Special Envoy of the National Assembly of the Republic of South Korea, Hon. Lee Hun-Seung, who led members of the country’s parliament.
On the side of the House were the Minority Whip, Ali Isa; Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Abdulmumin Jibrin, and several members of the House.
Speaker Abbas, in his remarks, expressed delight over the visit and noted the long-standing relations between Nigeria and South Korea resulting in different exchanges of parliamentary programmes since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.
The Speaker recalled that the 9th House established a Nigeria-South Korea Parliamentary Friendship Group to deepen exchange of ideas, legislative practices, and procedures, as well as parliamentary exchange programmes for purposes of capacity development of members and staff.
He said: “There was a mutual understanding to initiate a treaty against double taxation on the businesses of both Nigeria and South Korea which, though passed by the National Assembly, was not assented to by the then President of Nigeria. The 10th House of Representatives will revisit the bill on double taxation to remove obstacles mitigating smooth investments in both countries.
“The 10th House has also reconstituted the Nigeria-Korea Friendship Group to broaden our parliamentary relations and promote mutual understanding and cooperation in the areas of capacity development and investments.
With over 20 Korean companies in Nigeria, such as Samsung, LG and Daewoo, and investments worth over $2billion, it is an enormous contribution to the economy of Nigeria. The recent Korean Government supply of a vessel to the Nigerian Navy confirms the deep mutual relations, which the 10th House will do everything to sustain.”
Speaker Abbas stated that the focus of the Nigerian Government and the 10th House was to strengthen the economic ties between Nigeria and South Korea “to achieve the Fourth Industrial Revolution in technology development and transfer.”
