ENGR. CHINEDU JOSEPH UMEH
Since he was commissioned as the Head of the Nigerian Mission by His Excellency, the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR), the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Nigeria to the Republic of Burundi His Excellency Elijah Onyeagba PhD, has brought many visible economic and diplomatic initiatives between Nigeria and the Republic of Burundi.
His first diplomatic breakthrough was the signing of the first ever bilateral agreement between the two nations, the Nigeria-Burundi Joint Commission within his first 100 days in office. It has Educational Cooperation, Political Consultation and Technical Aid Corps among it’s focus points.
This novel bilateral agreement has given rise to greater economic visibility, revolutionalized trade and investment and is expected to improve the standard of living of both countries and create a multiplier effect in the Education, Agricultural Research and Development, ICT, Tourism, Aviation and Creative sectors.
Following the successes of the Nigeria-Burundi Joint Commission, the Nigerian Embassy in Bujumbura yesterday formally established the Nigeria-Burundi Business Council (NBBC). This Council comprises of representatives across several economic sectors of both countries in Education, Manufacturing, Hospitality, Agro-Processing, Mining, Transport and Logistics.
It is charged with the responsibility of helping the Nigerian Embassy Bujumbura host its maiden edition of the Nigeria-Burundi Business Summit scheduled to hold in last week of September, 2022 in Bujumbura.
In addition to its numerous responsibilities, it is expected to be the nexus between both Governments and prospective investor(s) on the many technical and strategic engagements that will offer maximum positive economic results before, during and after the Summit.
The Summit will feature many economic players in the trade and investment sector such as the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Lagos, Abuja, Enugu and Port-Harcourt in Nigeria.
Expected to attend the Summit are the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission(NIPC), the Nigerian Corporate Affairs Commission(CAC), Federal Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Burundi (CFCIB), Burundi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria/Burundi Business community, representatives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), among others.
The Commission has Sir Paul Chukwuma as President and Hon Olivier Suguru as Vice President. The committee’s Inauguration will be announced shortly.