The business romance between Nigeria and Indonesia which commenced in 2022, courtesy of Nigerian-Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI), is yielding fruits as it enters its third phase this year as 70 Indonesian firms are billed to storm Nigeria for the 2024 edition, Ishmael Balogun, president of NICCI said at a press interactive session in Lagos on Friday.

According to him, this 2024 edition of Nigerian-Indonesian Investment and Trade Forum (NIITF) will kick-off in Kano, at the Afficent Event Centre, with 70 Indonesian companies exhibiting a variety of Indonesian products at an expo which will hold between May 27 and 31, 2024.

The main event of this year’s forum, said Balogun, will hold at Abuja Continental Hotel on June 3, 2024, with NIITF partnering with a potpourri of private and public organizations which include Ministries of Industry Trade and Investments, Foreign Affairs, Solid Minerals Development, Steel Development, Tourism, Federal Government of Nigeria, governments of Lagos, Ekiti, Enugu and Kogi States, NACCIMA, Indonesia Trade Promotion Centre,NIPC, NEPC, TraxPort Rail Services, Signature Global Real Estate, Kain Smith & Co, Continental Hotel and several others.

The sectors of the economy the organizers of the event are focusing on include, among others Agriculture, Renewable energy, Power Generation, Manufacturing, Mining, Transportation, Infrastructure Development, Oil and Gas, Aviation, Digital Economy and Health.

Said Ishmael Balogun: “The vision of NICCI is to promote bilateral trade and investment between Nigeria and Indonesia. In performing this task, we position Nigeria as the number one investment destination in Africa. Currently, Nigeria is Indonesian number one trading partner in the continent of Africa with balances of $4.7 billion as at 2022.”

NICCI strongly believes in raising the bar. Ishmael Balogun said the NICCI is gunning for an estimated $6 billion trade balances between Nigeria and Indonesia. The NICCI, according to him, has projected an upsurge of the balance of trade between Nigeria and Indonesia to $6 billion for 2023 from $4.7 billion for 2022.

For Balogun, “The Board and Management of NICCI is very intentional in the continuous promotion and engagement of the two countries either through trade forums, trade fairs, bilateral symposiums and deliberations that continues to create opportunities for interactions and negotiations that promote our bilateral trade and investment balances.”

The theme of this year’s NIITF is ‘Indonesia Meets Nigeria…An Opportunity for Expansion of Bilateral Investment and Trade’.

It would be recalled that the maiden edition of this NIITF event was held in Jakarta in 2022 where former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was keynote speaker. The second edition was also held also in Jakarta in October 2023 where the executive Governor of Enugu State His Excellency Dr Peter Odili was keynote speaker. And on the two occasions, several dignitaries in Nigeria graced the events.

NICCI is moving the trade and investment forum to Nigeria this year by partnering with the Indonesian Embassy in Nigeria under the leadership of the Indonesian Ambassador His Excellency Dr Usra Hendra Harahap.

Rail Services

Emeka Ndu, Vice Chairman of NICCI and CEO Transport Rail Services Limited, gave a brief on his company that is out to help solve Nigeria’s logistic challenge. According to him, “We have secured 44 locomotives with 40 flat wagons. These will be used to carry freight between Lagos and Kano for clients. We plan to drop off containers for clients, along the route, namely Lagos, Ilorin, Minna, Kaduna and Kano.”

Ndu said his company plans to commence trial commercial operations by June 2024 and that his company is in the process of procuring gas-propelled locomotives and additional wagons “to enable us expand the service on a net zero basis in the near future”.

Kian Smith Company

Nere Emiko, vice president of NICCI and CEO Kian Smith Company, spoke on one interesting aspect of gold and silver which her company is involved in – digitization. She explained the gold market is inherently global and gold is traded continuously throughout all time zones. She said distinctions across geographies such that trade restrictions, taxes on gold and differing bar standards such as a single integrated does not exist.

Her company offers the digital solution to this challenge. Said she: “There are growing demand globally for a digital asset that provide exposure to gold and silver. There is also a geopolitical need for an alternative financial system to transact with.

This alternative financial system, according to Emiko, simplifies payment and useability, is bridge between fiat and cryptocurrency, appropriate for public audit holdings, has traceability and chain of custody (from mines to market), and provenance and ownership (for vaulting and bullion banking.

For Teniola Jibike, Special Adviser, Policy and Legal Services to the Minister of Tourism, Lola Ade-John, before the end of the current administration the Nigerian tourism sector would wear a new look as many tourism assets, which before now have not been explored would now be addressed.

She added that the creation of a stand-alone tourism ministry, would bring about a stout focus on the sector and by extension, there would be a spike in the contribution of the sector to the nation’s GDP.

Emmanuel Lingga, the point-man for Indonesia in Nigeria, said Indonesian businesses participating in the upcoming trade and investment forum, would explore opportunities in automotive, beverages, confectioneries, pharmaceuticals etc.