‘Nigeria, Korea Trade Drop To $1.2bn In 2020’
The value of the trade between Nigeria and South Korea has declined from $2.6bn in 2017 to $1.2bn in 2020 as a result of the fall in global oil prices.
Disclosing this at an interactive session with journalists in Abuja on Friday, the Korean Ambassador of Republic of Korea to Nigeria, Mr Kim Chae, said his country was seeking to ramp up economic cooperation with Nigeria.
Responding to a question on the economic partnership between Nigeria and South Korea, the envoy said, “The trade between South Korea and Nigeria is $1.2bn, which is a sharp decline from the $2.6bn transactions in 2017. “The slide in the trade volume was due to the fall in the global price of oil and gas, and this has negatively affected the two nations’ bilateral trade volume.”
Chae observed that Nigeria was a global player, citing the various positions being held by Nigerian professionals at the United Nations, World Trade Organisation, African Development Bank and other organisations across the world.
He said, “Nigeria right now is internationally well-acclaimed. The Korean candidate was defeated by a Nigerian candidate, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, for the post of Director-General of World Trade Organisation, which indicates that Nigeria is very strong at the diplomatic level.
“We also see many accomplished Nigerian nationals, notably Amina Mohammed at the UN and Akinwunmi Adesina at the African Development Bank making their presence felt on the global stage.
“Why you have so many high-ranking Nigerian policymakers at the global level is because Nigeria is a very relevant nation; otherwise, Okonjo-Iweala would not have been elected. In the event Nigeria is splintered into many countries, those countries won’t be of relevance, internationally.”
Chae further noted that balkanisation of Nigeria could result in bloodshed and displacement of many communities.
He added, “The call for the breakup of Nigeria is not a good idea. We had the Korean War in 1950 and more than one million people were killed.
“We also had the Biafran War in Nigeria and more than one million lives were lost. To divide a country means cutting your body.
“Let us imagine we have a whole body and I want to make my own body into two, then we have to cut some portions. And in the process I have to bleed a lot, not to wonder the pains and loss of blood.’’
