The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike, says the territory is willing to partner with the Republic of Ireland in the areas of agriculture, vocational education and Information Communication Technology (ICT).
Wike said this on Tuesday as he welcomed Peter Ryan, the Irish Ambassador to Nigeria, in his office.
Wike, in a statement released by Anthony Ogunleye, the director of press in his office said the FCT would leverage the strong ties between Nigeria and the Republic of Ireland to collaborate in the aforementioned areas to grow the economy of the territory thereby reducing the unemployment rate.
“We think that we would be interested in partnering with companies in Ireland where we can build ICT hubs for the interest of the youth, so as to reduce the level of unemployment.
“Again, education is key for us, particularly vocational and skilled education, where our youth can acquire some skills in particular areas,” the minister said.
He also noted that agriculture is very important to the economy since FCT has vast arable land.
The FCT Minister told the ambassador that his administration would be very happy to partner with companies in Ireland to introduce technology-based agriculture in the nation’s capital.
In response, Ryan said his country has a similar vision to that of the FCT administration.
The Irish Ambassador revealed that Ireland has a cultural hub in its largest chamber of commerce, known as the Dublin Smart City, where collaboration exists between all the different partners in the city in the areas of business.
He highlighted that the cultural footprint of Ireland is one of the reasons the country has become so attractive to overseas investors, and assured the FCT minister that he would also be ready to connect the territory and its policymakers to the consortium of experts.
The envoy disclosed that the head of his country’s vocational education provider would be in Abuja in the second week of December for talks with the minister.
Ryan also added that there are chances for cooperation to support local IT startups in Abuja.
