The Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (PHCCIMA) hosted the Nigeria- Indonesia Chamber of Commerce (NICC), led by its President, Dr Ishmael Balogun.
Addressing the gathering, comprising businessmen and women, importers and exporters, Dr Balogun said he was happy to be a guest. PHCCIMA ably led by the first female President of the Chamber since 1957, in the person of Dr Chinyere Nwoga.
He expressed confidence that the visit with its attendant interaction with the business community in Rivers State and by extension the South South region, will produce the required results.
According to him, the visit is an opportunity for Nigerian businesses to become bigger and greater, courtesy of the bilateral agreement between NICC and PHCCIMA.
Dr Balogun informed the audience that he and his team have visited the nation’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, to inform him of the forthcoming International Trade Fair to be held in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital. Pointing out that he has graciously approved that four Ministries, Departments and Agencies(MDAs), including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to attend the investment summit.
He said that other expected participants at the Djakarta Nigeria-Indonesia Trade Fare include the Nigeria Export Promotion Council(NPC), Organised Private Sector, SMEDAN, City Chambers, NACIMMA, and Abuja Chamber, among others.
He noted that partnership will be the key focus in the Djakarta Investment Forum. Dr Balogun advised private company owners to register and structure their businesses in order to qualify for breakthroughs ahead,prior to the Nigeria-Indonesia International Trade Fare.
“The major objective of joining city chambers is interaction, otherwise, it’s of no use.
Try and ginger yourself, get your businesses well registered and structured, get an accountant, a lawyer, and ensure you run along recognized processes.
You will find opportunities in chambers that you will leverage for your business. “Opportunities for joining the Nigeria-Indonesia Chamber of Commerce abound. For instance, Visa is 100% assured because they are sure there will be no ‘japa’ on any trip guaranteed by the Chamber. So far, there is no single record of japa,” Balogun said.
The NICC President said that by the efforts of NICC, Indonesia has seen a different Nigeria. Having realised that there could be a few bad eggs, but that the whole of Nigeria is good people.
He further said that his chamber is working hard to achieve Visa on Arrival, expressing optimism that it will soon materialise. During the interactive session, many participants aired their views on issues bothering their businesses and were given satisfactory answers by the NICC Boss.
Notable among them were Mr Ikechukwu Amajuonyi of KR Foods who sought to know if there are exchange program on training in Palm oil value change. He stressed that his outfit has been receiving orders from abroad, but the problem has been meeting the quantity and quality for the deal.
Responding,Dr Balogun assured him that NICC has spoken with a company in Indonesia called Wilmar,which he said is interested to do business in Nigeria. Adding that the company will also be involved in training.
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Other participants, such as the MBA Chairman Port Harcourt Branch, Cordel Ekeh, Bank of Industry Divisional Head, Mr. Pacqueens Irabor, Mr. Ofon Udofia, Executive Secretary of the Institute of Export Operations and Management, expressed their fears about the inclusiveness of their organizations in the Nigeria-Indonesia bilateral trade agreement.
Dr Balogun took his time to explain the advantages of identifying with the NICC/PHCCIMA relationship. Earlier in her opening remarks, the President of PHCCIMA, Dr Chinyere Nwoga, had welcomed the NICC President and his team to Port Harcourt. Pointing out that the essence of the visit was to interact with business owners, with a view to growing their businesses.
According to her, the choice of NICC is because a lot of things are happening in Indonesia, as regards business. Hence the need to bring the President of NICC to Port Harcourt, to unravel the economic secrets of Indonesia.
The PHCCIMA President urged the participants to make maximum use of the opportunity offered by the event. “The aim of this visit is to grow the businesses of our members and the business communities around us, and we’re here today because we’re pursuing this mandate and we’re proud to stand on that mandate, by the way.
“Indonesia is a country that has prospects. Indonesia is a country that offers big, extensive business opportunities, and we’re here today to hear from the man, the entrepreneur, the President. I call him Mr President, to tell us, expose to us, all those hidden secrets, because I know that a lot happens in Indonesia, and today, we are going to unbundle all of that by our grace and the special grace of God. We’ll key in and businesses will grow, because when your businesses grow Chamber makes more money, I can increase the subscription, “Dr Nwoga said.
She thanked the Head of Missions Desk of PHCCIMA, Dr Tari Membere, who she said sponsored the event for a job well done.
Adding her voice to the subject matter, the Head Missions Desk, Tari Membere, who said their major assignment is to liaise with chambers of other nations to enable businesses to thrive, emphasised the importance of collaboration. She reiterated the need for all business owners to belong to PHCCIMA.
In his vote of thanks, former President of PHCCIMA, Engr Emeka Unachukw,u described PHCCIMA as an organisation with character, urging all businessmen and women to belong to it.
