ENUGU—THE 23rd edition of Enugu International Trade Fair opened in Enugu, weekend, with the Federal Government reiterating its determination to transform the nation’s economy.

Speaking at the opening of the fair organised by the Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, ECCIMA, the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga, said to achieve this objective, there was need to put in place the right trade and investment polices, as well as introduce some initiatives and programmes that would drive the process.

The minister, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Trade and Investment, Ministry of Trade and Investment, Mr Christopher Akpa, said issues of value addition, import substitution, backward integration, local content, commerce 44, industrial clusters concept, product development and promotion would be given prominence in the transformation agenda of the present administration.

According to him, the ministry’s new strategy, therefore, was to pursue a policy framework that would mobilize investments, particularly, foreign direct investment, as well as domestic investment for economic growth in the critical sectors and sustainable development.

“It will focus on boosting domestic and value added export trade using import substitution and backward integration approaches, increasing productivity of local companies through the removal of technical and non-technical barriers to trade, assessing the impact of monetary and fiscal policies on business, pursuing rapid growth of small and medium enterprises and re-energizing the industrial clusters concept,” he stated.

Aganga used the opportunity to disclose government’s plan to adopt the Public Private Partnershi, PPP, arrangement for the construction, operation and maintenance of the Enugu International Trade Fair Complex.

Earlier in his speech, the President of the ECCIMA, Dr Theo Okonkwo, had expressed happiness that despite all the challenges facing the chamber in hosting Trade Fairs at the permanent complex, it had successfully held the 21st, 22nd “ and the current 23rd Enugu International Trade Fair which “we believe would be  more successful than the two previous editions held in this complex 2010 and 2011.”

He commended the new spirit of co-operation between ECCIMA and the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment which led to the handing over of the 40 unit shops developed by the ministry as part of the “added value in the development of the Enugu International Trade Fair Complex”.

“This indeed has given further vent to the Public Private Partnership, I am happy to note that we have also gone into action towards realizing the set goals,” he stated.