The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has announced that it is working with the World Bank to develop a Sector Strategic Plan for 2020-2030 to improve the economy.
This was disclosed by the Permanent Secretary, Dr Nasir Sani-Gwarzo at the 12th meeting of the National Council on Industry, Trade and Investment on Monday in Abuja themed: “Revitalisation of the Industry, Trade and Investment Sector in Nigeria in the Post-COVID-19 pandemic era.”
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The Perm Sec added that the partnership with World Bank would serve as a roadmap for the sustainable revitalization of the sector, citing efforts at digitalizing the operations of the trade ministry and subsidiary agencies.
He said that the the deployment of “Digital Industry, Trade and Investment Platform (DITIP) was an enterprise E-solution that could drive a fully automated process, citing the review of the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP), while the Trade Policy investment policy formulation was in progress.
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“All these efforts, when finalised and fully in operation, would facilitate re-invigoration of the sector for growth and development,” the permanent secretary said.
He also noted that the Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (IPPA) with Singapore and Morocco had been signed, while efforts were being made with the Ministry of Justice for its ratification.
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“The ministry is also working to develop a coordinated approach to investment promotion within 25 states and FCT.
“Efforts were being made by all the agencies under the ministry to develop Post COVID-19 plans that will assist them to navigate the challenges posed by the pandemic,’’ he added.
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What you should know
- Nairamerics reported in June that the World Bank had said that the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic could make an additional 5 million Nigerians poor, as the country was headed for its worst economic performance since the 80s.
- The World Bank also announced that as many as 150 million people would fall into extreme poverty by 2021, due to the economic effect of the pandemic. The bank added that 8 out of every 10 persons that fell into extreme poverty would be from middle-income countries.
