The Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anniken Huitfeldt has said her country will support the Energy Transition Plan in Nigeria, particularly in Lagos.
Huitfeldt gave the assurance when she and her entourage paid a courtesy visit to Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the Lagos House, Marina.
She said, “We are trying to do our best to support and improve the cooperation between the two countries in the area of Green Transaction. We would like to contribute to your action plan. We are looking forward to more business opportunities and areas we can collaborate with you.”
Huitfeldt who also congratulated Governor Sanwo-Olu for being re-elected by Lagos residents during the March 18 gubernatorial election was accompanied by Norway’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Kuit Eiliv Lein; Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Vebjorn Dysvik; Norwegian Consul General in Nigeria, Taofik Adegbite; Deputy Director, Ms. Nini Halle; Senior Adviser, Ms. Ane Lunde and other top government officials from Norway.
Speaking during the visit, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu reiterated the state government’s commitment to further develop relationships and build partnerships with the Norwegian Government and companies in the area of energy, infrastructure and technology to create a thriving economy.
The Governor said his government was committed to ensuring clean energy, providing infrastructure, and investments in the technology, health, and educational sectors so that the state can continue to remain resilient.
He said the state had been pushing itself to tackle all its challenges, especially the ones that had affected its Gross Domestic Product over the years and appreciated Lagosians for believing in his administration.
“We have created an economy where investment is real, where there is the ease of doing business, both local and foreign, and they can believe in the stability of the state. Yes, we are sub-national but we want to continue to remain the destination of choice for investors. So, we are open to investments in new areas, especially in technology, which is one area, in which we know that all the unicorns have a career in Lagos. We want to become the destination, where people can come and sort resources in terms of the skills that are required.
“We know that Norway, Finland and few others were the powerhouse for technology at a time but Nigeria also, especially Lagos, wants to develop that capability so that we must be big, large and technology companies require young people who can actually come here and take charge.
‘’ These are some of the economic drivers that we will see and we will continue to push in the next couple of years for our government so that the city can continue to remain resilient, forward-looking, and a safe home for all of the residents, citizens, and international markets and audience.”
