§ 15. Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State, Department for International Development, if he will make a statement on his Department's work to encourage Nigeria's trade.[164515]
§ Hilary BennDFID is committed to supporting Nigeria in strengthening trade policy dialogue in the context of Nigeria's home grown development strategy, the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). Recently, the Federal Government of Nigeria has asked DFID to provide a high level briefing on trade and we are responding to this request. In addition, a programme for the promotion of opportunities for the poor in Commodities and Service Markets would also tackle trade concerns by addressing institutional and structural constraints.
DFID has to date, provided trade policy support under the Africa Trade and Poverty Programme in 2003 to strengthen the capacity of the Nigerian government to engage in the WTO and EU-ACP Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations.
Furthermore, the Agency for International Trade Information and Co-operation, which DFID is funding with six other donor countries, provides support to less developed countries and non-resident members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and to small and under-resourced missions of developing countries, including Nigeria. The Trade and Investment Access 1435W Facility and the Advisory Centre on WTO Law are other support mechanisms co-funded by the UK Government through DFID that are available to less developed countries including Nigeria.