From Juliana Taiwo, Abuja
The Federal Government has approved the establishment of a Trade Negotiation Office that will serve as the central database for trade agreements. The office is to help to coordinate the different trade agreements to achieve coherence in the government’s policies.
The Nigerian Trade Negotiation Office (NTNO) is part of the government’s proactive strategy towards engaging with strategic trade partners. The trade office will be domiciled in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and will be over sighted by the Economic Management Team (EMT). It will also help in the implementation of the country’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).
Minister of Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah, who briefed alongside the Ministers of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, Health, Isaac Odewale, and Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, disclosed this after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday, chaired by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.
According to Enelamah, the NTNO will be headed by a Chief Negotiator of ambassadorial rank that will work with both the EMT and the FEC.
He said, “one of the memoranda approved is to establish the NTNO. Trade is something that is quite pervasive, we get involved in a lot of negotiations and a lot of MoUs are signed on trade. What we found was happening in various Ministries, Agencies and Departments (MDAs) was insufficient coordination and therefore it had unintended consequences and cost for us. There are a number of examples of these things that have happened so the cabinet decided that it is wise to establish a coordinating central office for trade negotiations, which will work with both the EMT and the cabinet.