May 16, 2013

AMMAN -- Nigerian Ambassador in Amman Taofeek Oladejo Orapaja said there is great potential to enhance Jordanian-Nigerian ties in various fields.

The ambassador called on Jordan to open a Jordanian embassy in Lagos to help boost these relations, which he described as excellent at the political level, but need further attention at the economic level.

The diplomat added that an embassy in Nigeria would also serve Jordan's interests in other West African countries.

"Nigeria is a regional hub for Western Africa and certainly an embassy in Lagos would help ties with other countries in Africa," the ambassador told The Jordan Times on Thursday, noting that there is great potential that the Kingdom is not realising in the whole of Africa.

Jordan has only one embassy in a non-Arab state in Africa, in South Africa's Johannesburg, which is not enough for the whole continent, Orapaja said.

He continued that the current trade exchange between Jordan and Nigeria is modest, ranging between $40-50 million a year, and can easily be boosted, noting that this exchange is in favour of Jordan, which exports pharmaceuticals, agricultural products and computer components to the West African country.

The ambassador noted that there are around 350 Nigerian students pursuing their studies at Jordanian universities and institutes, with 100 of them studying aviation.

This number can increase easily with minimal efforts as many other Nigerians would be interested to come and study in Jordan, he added.

According to Orapaja, Nigeria, with a population of 170 million people, has 200 universities, prompting many of its youths to seek their higher education abroad.

Another area of cooperation between the two countries, he said, would be medical tourism.

He noted that Nigerians spend around $6 billion a year on medical treatment abroad, and Jordan can attract at least part of them.

But he said that visa requirements by Jordan discourage many from coming to the Kingdom.

He continued that there are successful Jordanian ventures operating in Nigeria, and their success might prompt others to follow suit, particularly since his country is a major oil producer with great potential to attract further investments.

© Jordan Times 2013