Nigeria will seek stronger cooperation with Korea for sustainable development, Nigerian officials said at the Nigeria-Korea Business Forum at the Ambassador Hotel in Seoul, Wednesday.

The forum aimed to strengthen Nigeria-Korea network capabilities, and share diverse ideas and business solutions for sectors such as oil and gas, agriculture and agro-processing, manufacturing and ICT, tourism culture, and the creative industry to reach out to investors and key figures taking lead.

The Forum is part of the 62nd National Day celebrations of Nigeria according to the Nigerian embassy in Seoul.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the forum, Nigerian ambassador to Korea Ali Magashi emphasized the Nigeria-Korea bilateral trade volume that hit over $1.5 billion as of June 2022 making Nigeria South Korea’s largest trading partner on the African continent.

Magashi highlighted orders received by Korean construction companies that reached $15 billion in 2020 making Nigeria the biggest construction market for South Korean companies among Sub-Sahara African countries.

“Currently, Korean firms are building Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plants, crude oil transportation and storage facilities in Nigeria,” said Magashi.

However, Magashi pointed out that Korea’s trade with Africa, a continent with a population of over one billion people, accounts for less than 2 percent of South Korea’s overall global trade.

“There is significant room for improvement and opportunities for Korean investors in Nigeria in post-COVID-19.

Magashi urged Korean industries to utilize Nigeria’s large untapped solid minerals like lithium, nickel, cobalt, and coal from which urea can be extracted.

He stressed the need to utilize urea as an additive to reduce emissions deposits in diesel vehicles to minimize the scarcity

“Korean investment in Nigeria’s extractive industries would be to the mutual benefit of both countries,” he said.

“By comparison trade with China, with a similar population, is 25 percent,” he underlined.

“Nigeria has the largest untapped reserves of natural gas in Africa that would benefit immensely from Korean investors,” he said noting enough room for Korean investors in LNG.

Meanwhile, the forum discoursed the need to achieve and expand Nigeria-Korea cooperation to cope with global changes through the introduction of business opportunities in Nigeria and panel discussions on prospects for Korean investors in Nigeria, sustainable partnership for LNG plants development in Nigeria, Nigeria’s food security journey and lessons from South Korea, advanced technology for a new Nigerian human experience, and prospects of tourism and creative industry for Nigeria’s economic development followed by networking session and sideline meetings.

The forum will showcase joint arts and crafts exhibition co-organized by Krabhouse Ventures and Herald Art Day Korea and Nigerian National Day celebrations.

The Korea Herald is participating in the forum as a media partner with its executives and journalists in attendance.