The Latvian Secretary of State, Mr AdrisTeikmanis, has described the Nigerian investment climate as “very friendly with a very robust economy that holds great potential in human and natural resources”.

The Latvian envoy’s remarks are contained in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by Mr Joel Attah, head of media and publicity, Nigerian Investment Promotion Council.

The statement noted that Teikmani made the remarks when he led a Latvian Trade Mission to NIPC in Abuja.

It quoted the Secretary of State as saying that “Nigeria is a large country, a major oil producing country and an economic leader in Africa”.

It stated that the main aim of the delegation’s mission was to increase economic activities between the two nations and broker linkages between Latvian companies and their Nigerian counterparts.

It called for synergy between the countries in order to strengthen their economic and bilateral trade relations as well as to enhance the participation of Latvian companies in Nigeria for the mutual benefits of both nations.

According to the statement, trade volume between Latvia and Nigeria constitutes less than 2 per cent of Latvian trade activities, hence the need for greater economic participation and collaboration between them.

It stated that Latvia has comparative advantage in banking, forestry, human capital development and Information Communication Technology (ICT) over Nigeria.

“The nations in the region like Russia, Ukraine, Central America and Central Asian regions are major export markets of Latvian products,” it stated.

It expressed the desire of Latvia to work closely with Nigeria in order to attract more investment to both economies and increase their trade volumes.

The statement quoted the NIPC Executive Secretary, Mr Mustafa Bello, as briefing the delegation about the various reform programmes initiated by the Federal Government to turn the economy of the country around.

The programmes, it stated, include the on-going Transformation Agenda of the present government, adding that the reforms had positioned the country as an investment destination in Africa.

It noted that Nigeria had maintained steady economic growth over the years “as it has instituted investment-friendly policies that have impacted positively on its economy”.

The statement indicated that Latvia, which had a mere 3 per cent GDP growth in 1999, got to a peak of 10.4 per cent in 2003 and stabilised at 7 per cent in the last five years, with a target objective of attaining double digit growth by 2015.

The country now has a reformed financial sector with 26 banks operating at a minimum capitalisation of $1 billion, with some having branches in Europe, the U.S. and Asian countries.