The Republic of Ireland on Monday promised to promote and sustain its bilateral relations with Nigeria through people-to-people engagements.
The Deputy Head of Mission for the Irish Embassy in Nigeria, Mr Shane Rice, made this pledge at a news conference to announce the Irish-Nigerian Partnership for Development and Growth Business conference.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference, scheduled to take place in Dublin from Oct. 27 to Oct. 29., is being organised by leading industry professionals and policy makers.
Mr. Rice said the summits aims at strengthening economic ties between Republic of Ireland and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He noted that the conference will be a hybrid event with fellowship from participants connecting around the world, especially Nigerian-Irish citizens.
“The essence of this upcoming conference is to prosper both nations through business engagements.
“We have been in Nigeria for quite a while, and this is our first embassy in the continent of Africa, and we plan to be here for a long time working to deepen the already existing relations.
“And really to find ways for us to enhance each other’s culture and to promote people-to-people relationship, because when one partner prospers, all will prosper, and that is the essence of the conference in Dublin.
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“We are really looking forward to supporting the conveners and building our relationships, even after the investment conference that will be holding in Dublin later this year,” Rice said.
He added that Irish people have been coming to Nigeria as priest, nuns, teachers for a long time to educate and work as priests.
“We will see this through the upcoming conference, especially with our colleagues joining us online.
“We will also see the contributions that Nigerians are making in Ireland as students, healthcare workers, entrepreneurs among others. So, we will use this conference to take stock of that and see how we can strengthen our partnership,” he said.
The Executive Convener of INGA, Mrs Edizemi Onilenla, who is popularly known as Mamashee in Ireland, said that the three-day conference would focus on bringing entrepreneurs, captains of industries and government agencies together.
Onilenla said the conference would present these professionals with the opportunity to initiate conversations on short, medium and long-term trade investment opportunities for Nigerians and the Irish people.
“The conference will target areas such as Aviation, Education, Technology, Agriculture and Resilient Infrastructure. It will awaken the age-long historical ties between both countries and promote the quality of these relationships.
“The conference is not a one-off event but a partnership engagement between both countries, and one of many interactions that we hoped to achieve in coming years.
“We appreciate the current Irish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Peter Ryan, who is actively in support of this initiative, and who aims at bridging the gap between the two countries by creating an enabling environment for both communities to thrive.
“I humbly, and eagerly invite business organisations, chief executive officers, Federal and state government ministries, departments, agencies and parastatals to be part of the conference.
“To register, go to www.inga.ie where you will find details and packages,” Onilenla said.
(NAN)
