NIITF AT A GLANCE

The maiden edition of the Nigerian-Indonesian Investment and Trade Forum (NIITF) was held at the Trembesi Towers in Jakarta, Indonesia 24th to the 26th of October 2022.

The theme of the forum was “Reawakening Global Commerce”. It was championed by the Nigerian Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI) in collaboration with the Nigerian Foreign Mission in Indonesia, the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the broader Nigerian and Indonesian governments.

Over the last 5 years, the NICCI has been deliberately creating and participating in several investment and trade missions in Nigeria and Indonesia and has been encouraged by the level of interest that past engagements have generated.

The 2017 Nigerian-Indonesian Business Forum held in Lagos, the 2018 Indonesian African Dialogue, the Nigerian-Indonesia Business Forum held in Jakarta Indonesia 2019, the 2019 Indonesian-African Infrastructure Dialogue, and the annual Tradexpo Indonesia held in Jakarta are notable events that continue to grow in influence each year.

These business engagements supported Nigeria’s rise to the rank of the top trading partner of Indonesia on the African continent as of 2020, a position previously held by South Africa.

NIITF is building on the achievements of past trade and investment engagements between the two countries.

In defining the objectives of the forum, the NICCI consulted with the NIPC, the Nigerian Embassy in Indonesia, the Indonesian Embassy in Nigeria, the Indonesian investment promotion authority, the Nigeria Ambassador to Indonesia, and the Board of Directors of NICCI.

Through government-to-government, government to business and business-to-business engagements as well as physical factory visits by members of the Nigerian delegation, the NIITF sought to:

Increase bilateral investment and trade between Nigeria from the current trade balance of $2.6 billion in 2021 to $4.0 billion by December 2023.

To deliberately change the negative narrative and stereotype concerning Nigerians in relation to Indo-Nigerian business relations by laying the foundations for the launch of the Inaugural Naija-Indo Business and Creative Festival in Indonesia. The event is designed to feature a conference as well as an exhibition of the best of Nigerian fashion, art, and tourism as well as the country’s globally acclaimed music and film industry.

Showcase the best of Nigerian businesses to the Indonesian government and business community with a view to attracting foreign direct investments into Nigeria.

In collaboration with the Nigerian Immigration Service, the Nigerian foreign Mission in Jakarta, and the Government of Indonesia, the NIITF seeks to facilitate a review of the current visa rules to accommodate the processing of visas on arrival.

The NIITF was held on the heels of the 37th edition of the annual Trade Expo Indonesia event, the largest B2B-focused international exhibition for trade, tourism, and investment organized by the Government of Indonesia as a promotional event for export-oriented Indonesian products and services. Many delegates at the Trade Expo also participated in the NIITF.

Event Highlights

Day 1 – October 24, 2022

The first day of the forum assembled Ambassador Usman Ogah, the current Ambassador of Nigeria to Indonesia, the Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria, President Mohammed Buhari who was represented by Nigeria’s Honorable Minister of State for Industry Trade and Investment, Ambassador Mariam Katagum, and the Indonesian Minister of Trade. They all delivered speeches in line with the objectives of the event.

Other notable speakers included Mr. C. Darl Uzu, CEO and Co-founder of Enyimba Economic City Development (EECD); Ms. Chantelle Abdul, Managing Director of Mojec International Ltd; Prof. Olaniyi Salawudeen, CEO of Signature Global Real Estate (UAE) and Mr. Donald Idugboe CEO of Structural Analysis Ltd.

In addition, a 10-minute recorded message was delivered by Prof. Yemi Osinbajo SAN, GCON, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In his message, his excellency highlighted that a good starting point for reawakening global commerce is to revitalize bilateral trade and investment ties between the two countries given that Indonesia is an important member of the G20 and Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy. He also sighted the scope for increased trade cutting across agricultural commodities, mineral goods, and manufactured products. We identified an improvement in transport links, trade facilitation, and the general business environments in both countries as major enablers of trade.

The agenda of the day comprised the welcome addresses of the President of the Nigerian Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Ishmael Balogun, Ambassador Usman Ogah, a keynote speech by the Honorable Minister of Industry and Investment, Ambassador Mariam Katagum, presentations, and 2-panel discussions.

In addition, as a consequence of conversations and deliberations initiated at the Forum, a multi-million-dollar MOU was signed between Mojec International Limited of Nigeria and Omega Group of Indonesia in agriculture to plant and process oil palm and export of finished groundnut oil for forex revenue earnings.

Day 2 – October 25, 2022

The agenda of the day comprised speeches by notable delegates, presentations, 1-on-1 meetings featuring representatives of governments and businesses, business-to-business engagements, and the delivery of awards to notable partners of the NIITF.

In addition, the Deputy Controller General for Visas and residences at the Nigeria Immigration Service, Mr. Haliru Abdulmumini Ishaka, delivered a short presentation on enablers of greater trade and business relations between the two countries.

As a consequence of the business-to-business engagements, several memoranda of understanding were signed by several companies. They include an MOU between Shopindo and Signature Real Estate Limited to facilitate investment in real estate in the Middle East by residents of Nigeria and Indonesia. In addition, Shopindo also signed an MOU with Boblink Worldwide Logistics to facilitate trade between Nigeria and Indonesia

Day 3 – October 26, 2022

The 3rd day of the forum was reserved for factory visits and further business-to-business engagements. Over 10 factories representing a range of several economic sectors including agro-allied industries, renewable energy, fast-moving consumer goods, oil and gas, furniture, infrastructure, commercial real estate, home appliances, and solar panel manufacturing, were visited by delegates.