Israel has reaffirmed its commitment to support the Nigeria-Israel Business Forum (NIBF) initiative to deepen economic cooperation between the two countries further.

Yotam Kreiman, Charge d’ Affairs of Israel to Nigeria, made this known in his address at the NIBF 2021-Annual General Meeting organised by the Forum in Abuja.

Mr Kreiman, also acting Israeli ambassador to Nigeria, commended NIBF’s contributions in trade cooperation between the two countries.

According to him, it is an opportunity for companies in Israel and Nigeria to work together on a company-to-company level closely, business-to-business level, equally on a business-to-government and government-to-government level.

“We have met some companies from Israel and in Nigeria; we will find more ways we can cooperate on economic levels between the government and companies in Israel and Nigeria,” said Mr Kreiman. “Nigeria is taking huge steps towards where we are hoping to see more of the successes coming up; a lot of the successes Israel has recorded are through innovation.”

He identified similarities between Israel and Nigeria on security challenges, saying through collaboration between Israeli security companies and the Nigerian government, both countries could explore Israeli technologies to deal with security threats.

He further expressed optimism of a better future for Nigeria with lots of hope and happiness, adding that the development is to see a more secure and safer Nigeria in the near future.

“Nigeria is building and growing rapidly, faster than we imagined it to be. We have seen more companies, both those starting to accelerate into hubs that Israel and other governments are developing,” the Israeli envoy added. “We have lots of collaborations from NIBF that have been very active in recent years. In the last two years, the forum had to take a step back because of COVID-19.”

Speaking further, he disclosed that “we are going to be able to accommodate more events in the coming years,” especially events planned for 2022.

Segun Odebunmi, chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Information, stressed the need to deepen Israel-Nigeria diplomatic cooperation, to achieve more meaningful growth.

“No nation can stand as an island. There is need for Nigeria to collaborate with other countries of the world so that we can work together as business partners,” Mr Odebunmi explained. “If governments are driving technologies, they cannot drive it alone. They need to provide an enabling environment for citizens to meet with other countries.”

(NAN)