Geneva, Switzerland — Nigeria’s Ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ambassador Dr. Adamu Mohammed Abdulhamid, has urged Nigerian businesses and other stakeholders to take advantage of information, support programmes and market-access opportunities provided by multilateral organisations to expand their participation in global trade.
Abdulhamid made the call in an exclusive interview with Trade FM’s correspondent at the launch of a World Trade Organization report in Geneva, Switzerland, where he highlighted the growing importance of digital trade and e-commerce to Nigeria’s economic development and international competitiveness.
The ambassador advised Nigerian businesses to actively seek information from major multilateral institutions, noting that many of these organisations provide resources that can help businesses understand international markets, identify opportunities and access available support.
“My advice to Nigerians actually is first they have to really try to identify the multilateral agencies like the WTO, UNCTAD, the International Trade Centre, the World Bank and other multilateral agencies,” he said.
According to him, businesses should regularly consult the websites and resources of these institutions to identify available support programmes, market-access opportunities and other initiatives designed to facilitate participation in international trade.
“Unless and until they are able to do this kind of searching and do a lot of assessment, then they will be able to know what to do and take advantage of the global availability of the markets and benefit from it,” Abdulhamid said.
He stressed that access to information is increasingly important as the global trading environment evolves, particularly with the rapid expansion of digital commerce.
Abdulhamid said one of the major expectations of the programme and discussions surrounding it was to deepen participants’ understanding of digital trade, which he described as an increasingly important area of the global economy.
“The focus now by the larger community globally is to promote digital trade,” he said, urging Nigerian stakeholders to take advantage of the resources and opportunities available to them to integrate more effectively into the global digital economy.
The ambassador also referred to Nigeria’s recognition as a leading country in Africa in digital trade, saying the development should encourage businesses and other stakeholders to further strengthen their capacity in the sector.
He urged Nigerian enterprises to use available opportunities to broaden their understanding of digital trade, saying participation in forums of this nature could expose them to new global initiatives and developments.
“For people to take advantage of that area, they will have to do the listening so that they can get more of global new initiatives that will educate them more, expand their thinking and expand the scope of their understanding of digital trade,” he said.
According to Abdulhamid, Nigerian businesses also need to develop a clearer understanding of the relationship between e-commerce, digital trade and international business if they are to maximise the opportunities presented by the changing global marketplace.
He said the business community should look beyond the traditional trade of physical goods and explore opportunities in services and other emerging areas of international commerce.
“There are so many aspects that our business community really need to understand on e-commerce in a nutshell and digital trade, and they have to key into it in order to promote their businesses in terms of goods, in terms of services and other areas of trade,” he said.
The ambassador’s comments come as global trade increasingly incorporates digital technologies, online platforms and digitally enabled services, creating new opportunities for businesses while also requiring greater knowledge of international rules, market access and digital-commerce practices.
Abdulhamid therefore encouraged Nigerian businesses to become more proactive in researching global trade opportunities and engaging with multilateral institutions whose information and programmes could help them identify and take advantage of new markets.
He said a stronger understanding of digital trade would enable Nigerian businesses to expand their thinking, improve their participation in international commerce and position themselves to benefit from emerging opportunities in the global economy.
