President Muhammadu Buhari has lauded the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) for scaling up economic diplomacy and establishing bilateral relations with other countries.
Buhari, represented by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Adeniyi Adebayo, gave the commendation on Friday in Abuja while officially commissioning the Legacy Projects of the ACCI.
Buhari also praised the ACCI for setting the pace, by embarking on activities that created several employment opportunities and expanded businesses, including facilitating delegations from Russia, Vietnam, Turkey, Syria, Malaysia and all West African countries.
“They have done this effectively by signing friendly business cooperation agreements with other chambers across the globe, as well as establishing bilateral relations with other nations,” Buhari said.
He noted that the six-storey state-of-the-art office complex, with expansive International Convention Centre, as well as the Business Entrepreneurial Skills and Technology (BEST) Centre were a clear testimony to the visionary leadership of the chamber.
Buhari said the facilities were consciously developed in line with the ACCI strategic objective which was to promote Economic Growth and Development in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and across Nigeria.
According to him, the ACCI, under its Dispute Resolution Centre (DRC), remains deeply committed to using arbitration and mediation to address commercial disputes.
He noted that the centre has held workshops on disputes arising from public contracts and has organised capacity building programmes in Alternative Dispute Resolution.
“We are committed to the organisation’s mission and will continue to work closely with its stakeholders in generating the needed synergy required to boost an all-embracing economy,” he said.
He expressed satisfaction with its Policy Advocacy Centre (PAC) for organising advocacy and round-table on Budgeting Process, Digital Economy and National Livestock Transformation Programme.
Earlier in an address, President of the ACCI, Adetokunbo Kayode, said that the vision of the chamber was to be leading chamber of commerce in Nigeria and one of the best in Africa.
Kayode said that in 2019, the ACCI was adjudged one of the best chambers in the world and definitely the best in Africa, in the skills development sector by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), in Rio, Brazil.
The ACCI Office Complex consists of six floors of office space of 800 square metres per floor and fully air conditioned. (NAN)
