The Federal Government, FG, plans to establish a regional maritime transport system to boost the distribution of made in Nigeria goods in the ECOWAS sub-region.

Dr Samuel Ortom, Minister of State for Trade and Investment, announced this in Abuja at the on-going regional workshop on Export Competitiveness Strategies.

Ortom, who said that the project would be sponsored by the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), noted that it would encourage deeper trade relations within the ECOWAS zone.

The minister said that trade within the sub-region had depreciated and needed to be encouraged. He said that the regional maritime transport project would be done through the Sea-link initiative with further support from African Development Bank.

Ortom said that at the end of the three-day workshop, participants would come up with a template that should be adaptable in their respective countries.

He said time had come for African countries to redress the unfavourable production pattern, that saw the “continent producing what she does not consume and consuming what she does not produce.”

The minister said that the non-oil exports should play a very critical role in the economic transformation, development and growth of African countries. He said that striving to be competitive in the international market place was a basic foundation for economic growth.

“The main thrust of the current government in Nigeria is premised on an economic transformation agenda that included a very aggressive and effective export drive.”

The workshop, which started on March 27, ended on March 29. Singapore, Kenya, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Gambia, Uganda and host Nigeria are some of the countries which participated in the workshop.