Czech Republic deepens economic ties with Nigeria

The event was organised by NCECC through partnership with the Regional Trade Institute (RTI) and Embassy of the Czech Republic in Nigeria.

Ambassador of Czech Republic to Nigeria Tomáš Výprachtický, has spoken of his country’s resolve to deepen bilateral cooperation with Nigeria in various sectors of the economy.

Mr Výprachtický said this at a dinner organised to unveil the Nigeria-Central Europe Chamber of Commerce (NCECC) in Abuja on Sunday.

The event was organised by NCECC through partnership with the Regional Trade Institute (RTI) and Embassy of the Czech Republic in Nigeria.

Mr Výprachtický said the idea is to provide platform for government officials, captains of industry and leaders in the creative sector, to connect in friendly atmosphere, encourage meaningful dialogue and cultivate strategic partnerships.

“Our companies, corporations, and institutions have been coming here for quite some time. We have a long-standing political and economic relationship between Nigeria and Czech Republic.

“There is already a sovereign corporation between our two countries: Since the past seven years Nigerian priests served in one of our monasteries.

“This sovereign corporation is just one of the many stories we have had over the years. Nigeria is a great country with plenty of natural and human resources, lots of engineering and technologies potential.

“When I was appointed ambassador, my main goal was to exploit and boost such potential of mutual cooperation between the two countries, which, frankly speaking, so far has been partly fulfilled,” he said.

Speaking at the event, the President of NCECC, Paschal Onyemaechi, said that the organisation had since August 2025 been duly registered to bolster ties between both countries.

According to him, NCECC operates across not less than five countries with its mandate towards deepening Europe and Africa relations, saying Europe will leverage technology, technical know-how and good ethics while Africa depended on natural resources, young population and vibrant economic market.

“Our role is to promote bilateral trade, encourage investment, also to provide up-to-date information about markets and emerging opportunities in both regions.

“We will promote educational mobility globally, technology transfer, and more importantly, we will create platform for businessmen, industrialists, policy makers to interact and forge a new partnership for benefit of our both regions.

“The organisation is the first of its kind and we will transform how we trade in the region, we will be helping students, especially post-graduates to save lot of money, because we have a deal now with the Czech Republic,” he said.

He revealed the organisation planned to establish the New Partnership for Development of Africa (NEPDA) project among other things to achieve its targets.

A highlight of the event was the induction of Andrew Haruna, Bingham University’s Pro-Chancellor and Distinguished Linguist elected Vice-President of Nigerian Academy of Letters, as leader of the NCECC Advisory Council.

Others include Rislan Kanya, Chair of the Big Data Analytics and Innovation Research group, Jamilu Gwamna, Managing-Director/CEO, Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO)

Dere Awosika, businesswoman/chairperson of Access Bank Plc and Yakubu Dogara, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, were inducted as committee members of NCECC.

(NAN)