Nigeria to create 1m jobs, seeks tech transfer with S/Korea

The Federal Government has expressed readiness to create one million jobs in the digital world.

Vice President Kashim Shettima gave the assurance on Monday while receiving a delegation from the Republic of Korea at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The delegation was led by the Special Envoy to the President of the Republic of Korea, Jang Sungmin.

Shettima recalled that in the 50s and 60s, the Korean GDP was at par with many African countries.

The vice president said, however, that at present, Korea was among the developed nations partly due to the leadership and commitment of the Korean people.

He said: “We are willing to partner with you in the area of technology because by 2030, there will be 65 per cent global talent deficit with the U.S., Russia and Brazil suffering six million talent deficit.

“I believe Nigeria is in a unique position to fill in those talent deficits because ours is a young nation.

“75 per cent of Nigerians are below the age of 35, so we are soliciting for your partnership and support in digital skills training for our young people.

“We want to create 1 million jobs in the digital world; India earned $120 billion last year from global outsourcing and we are in a unique position to take advantage of the opportunities in the sector.

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“We need the skills set, we need the technology to drive the process and yours is a technology that we can embrace.”

Shettima assured the Korean Government of Nigeria’s commitment to partner with Korea to strengthen relations with both countries, especially balancing the trade deficit between the two countries.

On the agenda of the new administration, the vice president noted that security and economic development was the focus of the government.

He assured the Korean delegation that President Bola Tinubu would honour the invitation of his Korean counterpart to the Africa-Korea summit in 2024.

“The government will make it easier for Korean businesses and other foreign investors to do business in Nigeria.

“Korea has always supported us in the international fora and we have that obligation to reciprocate by supporting Korean businesses operating in Nigeria.

“Be rest assured that Nigeria truly appreciates the Republic of Korea support to Nigeria in multilateral institutions, in the UN General Assembly, in our quest for a seat in the Security Council and in several UN bodies,” he said.

Shettima also restated Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening relations with Republic of Korea especially in promoting trade, technology transfer and maintaining global peace.

According to Shettima, Nigeria and Korea have a very robust bilateral relationship that is anchored on years of mutual trust and cooperation.

“A lot of Korean companies are doing business in Nigeria especially in the area of oil and gas; six of our LNG trains were constructed by Korean companies.

“We are fully committed to a very robust relationship between our nations; we need to learn a lot from Korea especially in the areas of manufacturing and agriculture.

“You are a success story worthy of emulation by all developing nations.”

Earlier, Sungmin congratulated Nigeria for the successful inauguration of the new government.

He conveyed special invitation from President Yoon Yeol to his Nigerian counterpart, Tinubu, to attend the forthcoming Africa-Korea Summit in South Korea.

He also restated his country’s continuous support for Nigeria across different sectors.

“Korea’s collaboration with Nigeria can lead the fourth Industrial Revolution.

“Korea’s development is akin to Nigeria’s development,” he said.

The Star