The Republic of Korea has revealed that the volume of trade between Korea and Nigeria in 2021 rose to $2 billion.
Disclosing this on Thursday, 10th March, was the Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Kim Young Chae, when he addressed the media about the election of Yoon Suk-yeol as South Korea’s President-elect on Wednesday, 9th March.
According to Kim, the bilateral trade figure between the two countries was a 50 per cent increase when compared to that of 2020.
Kim also revealed that the boost in bilateral trade occurred and grew stronger in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic that slowed down many global economic activities. Speaking to newsmen, the ambassador revealed: “I hope that this year our bilateral trade rises further and at the end of the day I want to see Nigeria become Korea’s biggest trading partner in Africa. Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa, so it should be Korea’s number trading partner among Africa’s countries.”
Nigeria is currently South Korea’s third-largest trading partner in Africa and the balance of the trade between both countries is driven mainly by Korea’s manufactured goods – goods like plastic and aluminium related products – and Nigeria’s crude oil and gas exports.
The South Korean ambassador revealed that while oil and gas are important to South Korea, it will be important for Nigerians to expand its export goods to include agricultural products. Speaking to newsmen, Kim said: “We are importing a lot of Nigerian gas to further increase our bilateral trade. Of course, oil and gas is very important, but we want to see some agricultural products from Nigeria and manufactured goods in order to penetrate into Korean market. I hope more Nigerian companies will study Korean markets and Korean consumers. For example, we import a lot of sesame seeds and I know that Nigeria produces a lot of sesame seeds. There is a huge potential for Nigeria’s sesame seed or sesame oil.”
Kim also pleaded with the Nigerian government and people to back the candidacy of Korean Foreign Affairs Minister, Kyung-Wha Kang for the Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) at the election scheduled for Geneva on March 25.
Investors King recalls that the Nigerian and South Korean governments had earlier disclosed
plans of broadening their relationship – especially in areas like politics, economics, defence and education. This was during the first visit of South Korean 1st Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Choi Jong Kun to Nigeria in 2021.It appears now that these plans are now being implemented with the recent report by the South Korean ambassador.
