The Potential of Chile –Nigeria Relations

Chile has embassies in the following African countries:. Algeria-Algiers; Egypt-Cairo; Ghana-Accra; Kenya-Nairobi., Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ramat, Morocco and Pretoria, South Africa. It takes an average of three days in the 21st century for more than 190 million Nigerians to travel to Chilean Embassy in Accra, Ghana to do whatever diplomatic transactions. I want to appeal to authorities in Chile and Nigeria to establish embassies in Nigeria and Chile. I am ready to offer an office accommodation in Benin City, Nigeria for either a consular office or for an embassy for Chile. I have special interest for Chile. With roughly 190 million inhabitants, Nigeria has Africa’s largest population. Nigeria is the continent’s largest economy – 26th in the world – following the release of “rebased” data putting GDP at $510 billion some years back.

I want to appeal for Improved Economic and political Ties between Nigeria and Chile. Trade relations between Chile and Africa are at low ebb and needed to be re-invigorated. The Chilean economy had not less than 4.6 per cent growth rate. There is a great opportunity for Nigerian products to enter Chilean market. “Economic relations with Africa is just 0.3 per cent of what Chile exports to the world; and what Chile imports from Africa is just 1.1 per cent. Chile has over 250 billion-dollar Gross Domestic Product and 80 per cent of its products are related to external trade; which means she depend highly on external trade. She has a reliable economy and she needs to explore the possibility of greater economic ties with Nigeria.”
There is the need to set up a Nigeria-Chile Chamber of Commerce and Nigeria-Chile Business Council to facilitate trade relation between both countries.

There is need for Chile and Nigeria to work toward putting the organised private sector in the forefront to boost economic activities. “We should work out modalities for the private sectors from both countries to work together for mutual benefits. “There is also the need for an economic agreement so as to know the bounds of the new ties. “From available statistics, the trade ties are in favour of Chile and there is need to balance it up.’’ There is need for Chile to tap into the potential that abound in Nigeria’s agriculture, mines and solid minerals sectors.

The current population of Chile is 18,216,482 as at August 21, 2018, based on the latest United Nations estimates.

The Chile state-owned firm CODELCO is the world’s largest copper-producing company, with recorded copper reserves of 200 years. Chile has made an effort to expand nontraditional exports. The most important non-mineral exports are forestry and wood products, fresh fruit and processed food, fishmeal and seafood, and wine

Chile has been one of Latin America’s fastest-growing economies in recent decades, enabling the country to significantly reduce poverty. Between 2000 and 2015, the population living in poverty (on US$ 4 per day) decreased from 26 percent to 7.9 percent. Based on estimates from the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook, Chile’s exported goods plus services represent 28.2% of total Chilean economic output or Gross Domestic Product. The analysis below focuses on exported products only.
“Nigeria remains the most populous in Africa, the seventh globally with an estimated population of over 198 million. “The recent World Population Prospects predicts that by 2050, Nigeria will become the third most populated country in the world.

A Western African nation surrounded by Benin, Chad, Cameroon and Niger, the Federal Republic of Nigeria shipped US$44.5 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2017. That dollar amount reflects a -50.3% drop since 2013 but a 35.2% uptick from 2016 to 2017.

From a continental perspective, well over a third (37.4%) of Nigerian exports were sent to European countries while 29.6% worth was destined for Asia. Another 16.5% was delivered to North America, 12.1% went to Africa with 3.3% bought by importers in Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.

Nigeria’s top 10 exports are highly concentrated accounting for 99% of the overall value of the country’s global shipments.

Among the top 10 Nigerian exports above, the fertilizers category showed the greatest increase from 2016 to 2017 via a 140.9% uptick. Exported fruits and nuts gained 133.6%. Plastics and articles made from plastics exported from Nigeria appreciated by 100.8% followed by Nigeria’s exported oil seeds up by 48.7%

Nigeria’s cultural heritage as a huge export potential capable of igniting economic transformation between Nigeria and Chile. “Our heritage is so strong; all the things that we are celebrating may be strange to many people living in Nigeria and Yoruba land. They displayed African cultural heritage in their libraries and museums.’’

Our culture is a very huge export potential and tourism is one of the biggest trades in the world.

“It is bigger than a lot of investments that you can think of because it involves a lot of movements by people from diverse backgrounds and cultural orientations. With tourism, people are able to establish a common heritage and ancestral background,

It is about time for us to focus on tourism by improving our infrastructure and package our entire heritage. Most of the heritage and festivals are very timely and yield benefits. Nigeria and Chile should pay serious attention to our heritage because our tourist centres and attractions are natural and that is why we need to display them.

Much like the famous “Nollywood” film industry, music is now big business in Africa’s most populous nation. The music industry’s revenue from music sales was $56 million in 2015 and is forecast to grow to $88 million in 2019, auditing firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) reported last year. It said the country’s entertainment and media industry had an estimated total revenue of $4.8 billion in 2015 and is likely to grow to some $8.1 billion in 2019, making it “the fastest-expanding major market globally”. As in many Nigerian cities, music is inescapable in Lagos, whose 21 million inhabitants can hear popular songs in the form of mobile phone ringtones or blaring out of speakers on the private transit buses, known as danfos, that are ubiquitous.

Nigeria other major resource is its people. With an estimated 184m people in 2015, according to the IMF, Nigeria ranks as the seventh-most-populous country in the world. Chile will benefit greatly from Nigeria that is also blessed with an abundance of resources. The country is most widely known for its vast hydrocarbons wealth. It was home to 37.1bn barrels of proven oil reserves in 2015. At current production rates, this will give the country another 43 years worth of oil revenues. The country also contained 5.1trn cu metres of natural gas in 2015, accounting for 2.7% of total global reserves.

In conclusion, I want to appeal for Improved Economic and political Ties between Nigeria and Chile. Trade relations between Chile and Africa are at low ebb and needed to be re-invigorated.