On the occasion of the 52nd Independence Day of Nigeria, Amb. of the Federal Republic of Nigeria & Mrs. Ene Akawor hosted a reception at the Hotel Shilla on Oct. 1, 2012.
Many envoys showed up despite of the Chusuk Holiday including Amb. Paul Menkfeld of the Netherlands, Amb. Nikoloz Apkhazava of Georgia besides most African ambassadors with their spouses.

▲ Amb. Akawor of Nigeria (eighth from right) poses with African colleague envoys besides Amb. Fen of Uzbekistan (seventh from right), dean of The Seoul Diplomatic Corps.

Nigerian compatriots also in Seoul attended in large numbers and Korean distinguished guests included Chairman Kim Hak-su of KSPDG (Korea Sustainable Project Group), Chairman Kim Jeung-tae of Daejin Group, etc. KEPCO President & CEO Kim Joong-kyum, Dean Lee Woo-yong of HRDI Korean Tech, and LG International Corp. etc. sent their congratulatory wreaths. Original Nigerian cousines such as Akara, Porridge Yam, Moi-Moi, Porridge-Bean, and Chicken Suya attracted the attention of the guests.
Touching upon the fact that Nigeria is Africa’s biggest market, Amb. Akawor pointed out: “There are many rooms for the expansion of trade between the two nations”.

The following is a speech, delivered by His Excellency Desmond Akawor on the occasion of the 52nd Independence Day of Nigeria. –Ed.
It gives me great pleasure and joy to welcome you to the 52nd Independence Anniversary of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Your presence here even at a Chusok holiday is an eloquent testimony of your love for our country, Nigeria. This year marks also the 32nd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relationship with Korea. Our relationship has grown from strength to strength.
Nigeria is Korea’s third biggest trading partner in Africa. Trade volume between the two countries is currently at $2.6 billion USD.

ONGOING INITIATIVES
In the area of infrastructure and power generation, major Korean Companies are playing huge roles;
In April 2012 Daewoo E&C signed a contract for 20% equity investment in 10,000mw power project;
The concessioning of Egbim power plant (The largest power plant in Nigeria) to KEPCO and their local partner Sahara Energy is on course.
In the area of Technology Transfer and Capacity building, many Nigerian public servants have benefited from KOICA organized training programme and about 120 Nigeria youths are currently undergoing technical training programmes in various Korea universities. The Korean Cultural Center in Abuja has become a major window for Nigerians at Home to understand Korean culture and languages. Equally, the availability of Nigerian movies in Itaewon shops has actually revealed a lot about Nigerian’s society.

NEW INVESTMENT
The key drivers to Nigeria continued growth are its youthful population (market) and abundance of natural resources. The final investment decision (FID) for Bonny LNG Train 7 and Brass LNG when out will definitely throw-up another vista for major Korean companies. These two projects will shut-up Nigeria LNG production to 50MTPA.

▲ Mrs. Ene Akawor, spouse of Nigeria Amb. (seventh from right), slices cakes with wives of the Seoul Diplomatic Corps.

The economic impact of both the plant constructions, fabrication of the LNG carriers and the off-take of LNG direct from Nigeria to Korea with take Nigeria- Korea trade relation to another level.
May I bring to the notice of Korean investors that Nigeria still have a housing deficient of 16 million. Enormous potentials in Solid Minerals with beneficiation studies concluded on 32 different mineral and vast investment opportunities in railways and maritime sectors.
The Nigeria-Korea Joint Commission is scheduled to hold at Abuja on the 3rd of December, 2012. It is my candid forecast that the outcome will settle other gray areas in our bilateral relations.
May I please conclude by wishing Korea Government a very fruitful; Korea-African Forum, Korea-Nigeria Joint Commission and finally a very successful Presidential Election come December 2012.
Happy Chusok Holiday
Thank you and God bless Korea-Nigerian relations.