Nigeria, Canada to collaborate on power, mining, others

Nigeria is set to partner with Canada in the areas of power generation, mining, aviation and film production.

The Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, disclosed this to State House correspondents on Tuesday at the end of a meeting of the Nigerian-Canada Bi-national Commission presided over by Vice President Namadi Sambo.

'You  know Canada is strong in the area of mining; it is a major area. Power, especially in the area of hydropower, is also a major area. Health and education are also important. People forget that when you are talking about investment, you also have to invest heavily in human capacity management,' Aganga said.

In the area of aviation, the minister said Nigeria already had a strong relationship with Canada and that his counterpart in the Aviation ministry, Ms. Stella Oduah, would soon visit the country to follow up.

Aganga said the two countries would also be looking at agriculture and related areas, as well as petrol chemicals.

He said, 'There are three things happening between Nigeria and Canada. One is the bi-national commission between the two countries, which is going to hold, and which is going to be chaired at the vice-president's level with the ministers, who will look at it and implement it.

'The second big thing happening between Nigeria and Canada is the investment forum, which is going to take place between May 2 and 4, 2013. The preparations and the business relationship between the two countries are going on extremely well.'