L-R: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Côte d’Ivoire to Nigeria, Mr. Kalilou Traoré, Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, and Chairman/CEO of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Ltd., Chief Innocent Chukwuma, during the courtesy visit
By Tony Adibe
Côte d’Ivoire and Enugu State have resolved to deepen economic cooperation between the West African nation and Nigeria, with a particular focus on Enugu State. This development is coming as Enugu Air set its eyes on flight operations across the West African region.
The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Côte d’Ivoire to Nigeria, Mr. Kalilou Traoré, and Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, made this known during a courtesy visit by the Ambassador to Government House, Enugu, on Monday.
Ambassador Traoré, who was accompanied during the visit by the Chairman and CEO of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Ltd., Chief Innocent Chukwuma, underscored the strong bond between Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire.
He expressed his appreciation for the invitation by the Chairman of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing to tour their world-class facilities in Enugu and commended Governor Mbah for making Enugu welcoming to both visitors and businesses.
“We couldn’t come here without stopping by to visit you and to also ensure that we strengthen economic cooperation between the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria in general and Enugu State in particular. I invite you to Côte d’Ivoire with other collaborators to discuss based on your area of interest and how we can make it mutually fruitful,” Mr. Traore said.
Speaking, Governor Mbah explained that his administration set out to ensure that it created an environment where businesses could thrive and where capital would be safe, and security assured.
Governor Mbah recalled that during the campaign, his team had set out a blueprint of what could be achieved, one being to launch a quantum leap to grow the economy exponentially.
According to him, this growth would come through collaboration, partnership, and the attraction and unlocking of private capital, which, he emphasized, was always guided by return on investment and the assurance of safety.
“We have invested hugely in making sure that we have a safe city largely covered by technology. What may interest you is that we launched Enugu Air recently. A few days ago, we got approval to operate regional flights. Hopefully, the next time you visit, or maybe myself visiting Côte d’Ivoire, will be by Enugu Air. So, we won’t have to go through Lagos or Abuja. We hope to start operating regional flights from Enugu to different West African destinations.
“We would like to collaborate with you. It will be interesting for us to know those areas where we can work together in order to achieve our common goals,” Mbah stated.
