Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has expressed the readiness of the state government to collaborate with the Polish government on ways to enhance the economic activities and development of the state in particular and that of the nation in general.
Sanwo-Olu represented by his deputy, Dr. Kadir Obafemi Hamzat, gave this assurance on Monday during a courtesy visit by the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland, Her Excellency, Joanna Tarnawaska, at the RoundHouse, Alausa-Ikeja, saying that the state was ready to partner with the Polish government through its Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperative.
The governor said through this channel, the state government would be able to work with various companies in Poland for the overall development of both Lagos State and Nigeria as a whole.
The governor assured that the partnership between the two tiers of government and the Polish government would be very good as there existed at the federal level, a government that was ready to listen and work on moving the country forward economically and financially and in all sectors of the economy.
“We are happy to work with you. Your Head of Trade Office is here in Lagos. We will see what we can do. May be interacting through our Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, to see how we can partner with various companies in Poland.
“I was reading that you are producing things that are of similar qualities to Germany but the prices are lower, which makes sense for us to work with you. In this case, we will make sure that we elevate our economic activities and of course Nigeria,” the governor said.
He emphasised that Lagos is the center of all actions in the country, noting that it would help uplift the country if the state government and the Polish government can partner, as, according to him, there is no single ethnic group that is not in Lagos.
“Lagos is the capital of Nigeria economically and financially, where business is and forty-eight percent of banks transactions in the country occur in Lagos with bank headquarters therein,” the governor said.
Speaking earlier, the Polish Ambassador to Nigeria, Tarnawaska, said the Republic of Poland had enjoyed a very good diplomatic relationship with the state government and hoped to enhance the relationship to trade.
She said that the visit was to look forward to new opportunities and cooperation between Poland and Lagos State, noting that no Nigeria’s president last year signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Polish government.
“With the Head of the Foreign Trade, Ms. Justyna Sitarska, together we will look for a new opportunity for cooperation between Poland and the Lagos State government,” she assured.
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