Taiwan to strengthen bilateral trade ties with Nigeria

In an effort to fortify bilateral economic ties and investigate potential new business opportunities, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council has reached out to Nigerian companies.

This was disclosed by the Taiwanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Andy Yih-Ping Liu, at the 2024 Taiwan Trade Business Forum, held in Lagos on Monday.

He said, “Taiwan’s population is roughly the size of Lagos State, but we lack the natural resources abundant in Nigeria. Conversely, Nigeria’s strength lies in its resources, while Taiwan’s advantage lies in its human capital. We believe a symbiotic relationship, combining our strengths, can lead to a powerful trade partnership.”

In his welcome address, a representative of TAITRA, Cris Lin, spoke on the importance of building closer trade ties between Taiwan and Nigeria.
He stated, “The main point of promoting trade between Nigeria and Taiwan is to bring awareness of Taiwanese products to Nigerian consumers. Our products are known for striking a perfect balance between a reasonable price and excellent quality, which Nigerian consumers prefer.”

The forum attracted nine Taiwanese companies, each renowned for their expertise and innovation in various industries.
They include Well Electronics, Lien Chiny Enterprise, Easy Well Water System Inc., Mobileetron Electronics Co., Ltd., Ou Dean Foods Factory, Yu Tong Steel Co., Shuz Tung Machinery, and Voltronic Power Technology.

The Director General of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture, Sola Ogudimu, disclosed that he had been to Taiwan and “one thing about them is that they do ethical business and the quality of their products is guaranteed. They don’t compromise products, and they don’t shortchange people.”

According to the Project Manager at Voltronic Power, Wesley Hsu, Nigeria has a good reputation for solar panel production, which will serve as a perfect chance to introduce solar technology to the country.
“Nigeria is a strong country with a tremendous amount of capacity, and Taiwan is also a strong country in technology. It will be a great opportunity to bring solar technology to Nigeria because Nigeria has a good climate and sufficient sunlight to generate solar panels. We realise that the electricity here is not very stable. So, definitely, solar will be one of the best energy sources for your country,” he declared.

According to reports, Taiwan’s trade with Nigeria was worth about $1bn as of 2022.
Recently, the Taiwanese Ambassador stated that a trade protection agreement between the two nations would strengthen trade ties.