The trade volume between Nigeria and France has reached N1.1 trillion, the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Denys Gauer, has said.
It was reported that Nigeria was France biggest trading partner in Africa.
Gauer explained that France exports to Nigeria worth 330 billion naira, while Nigeria’s export to France was in the region of 770 billion naira.
``Nigeria is France biggest trading partner in Africa, but this is mainly because of Nigeria’s oil.
``The volume of our bilateral trading relations is around five billion Euros, but French exports to Nigeria are only 1.5 million Euros.
``That means our bilateral trade is quite unbalance and it is in favour of Nigeria because of the oil.
Gauer explained that there were many French companies now operating in Nigeria, adding that France encouraged more of its companies to invest in Nigeria.
``We now have much more French companies present here. We are encouraging more French companies to come to Nigeria and also to establish more partnerships with Nigerian companies.
``We don’t want our companies to invest only in exports, but we are ready to engage into long-term partnerships with the Nigeria’s private sector,” the envoy told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The ambassador said there were now French banks in Lagos, while a French company recently bought a Nigerian company in the Insurance industry.