The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike has expressed keen interest in partnering with the Republic of Ireland for empowerment of youths and economic development of the capital city in the areas of agriculture, vocational education and Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
He made this known in Abuja on Tuesday, when the Irish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Peter Ryan visited him in his office.
According to him, the partnership would grow the economy of the country while leveraging the strong ties between Nigeria and the Republic of Ireland if actualised.
Among other interests, the minister identified agriculture, with the available vast land in the FCT, as a very critical sector that could contribute to improving the economy of the federal capital.
He said that the FCT Administration would be very happy to collaborate with companies in Ireland to introduce technology-based agriculture in the FCT.
This, he said, could be achieved through leveraging the expertise in Ireland, adding that all partnerships would be for the mutual benefit of both Ireland and the FCT.
Responding, the Irish envoy informed Wike of his country’s willingness to connect FCTA to expert teams in Ireland for further discussions.
He explained that Ireland has a cultural hub in its largest chamber of commerce – the Dublin Smart City, where different partners and businesses work closely.
In his words: “We work closely with them as indigenous startups to create jobs for young people and as you know, a lot of these people are geography neutral.
“We can see the potential for it in Abuja. Maybe there are one or two little steps we could take together to demonstrate practical things”, he added.