Edo Partners Swedish Embassy to Boost Devt, Entrepreneurship, Tackle Irregular Migration

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has announced plans to leverage the state’s diplomatic and business relationships with the Swedish Government to enhance opportunities in education, cultural exchange, and entrepreneurship for the state’s youth.

This announcement was made during a courtesy visit by the Swedish Ambassador and Head of Mission to Nigeria, Annika Hahn-Englund, along with her husband Magnus and Sara Ibru of the Trade and Investment Department in the Swedish Embassy, to the Government House in Benin City, the state capital.

Governor Obaseki praised the creativity and innovation prevalent in Sweden and expressed readiness to partner with the Swedish Government to further Edo State’s developmental agenda.

He highlighted Edo State’s strategic location and its strengths in transportation, agriculture, and energy, noting that the state generates over 1000MW of electricity.

The governor also emphasized that over the past seven years, his administration has been actively engaged in job placements and various areas of bilateral cooperation, particularly in education, cultural exchange, and migration management, working closely with the European Union, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and other partners.

He said: “Sweden is a country that is a global leader in innovation. In Edo, we are strategically located in the Country. We are an economic hub because all national infrastructure is here for gas and electricity. We have taken a major transformation to encourage people to stop here and do business.”

On efforts to tackle illegal migration, the governor said: “We have had to contend with issues of illegal migration in the last seven years. We worked closely with the EU to curb irregular migration and human trafficking from Edo State. At some point, we had about 30,000 young men and women in Libya trying to cross to Europe. That is not the case today anymore.”

Obaseki noted that efforts were made to tackle the issues headlong, especially in driving a reorientation programme that led to a drastic reduction in Edo youths engaged in irregular migration.

According to him: “We emphasize foundational education and also job training and placement. Also, we focused on new areas like technology, building digital infrastructure and providing opportunities for people to work. We also focus on our culture and entertainment because of the creative instinct of our young people. We worked hard to upskill our youths. Today, we have placed emphasis on supporting businesses in culture, technology, logistics and manufacturing.

Earlier, the Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, Annika Hahn-Englund, stated that the purpose of her visit was to strengthen diplomatic and business ties with the Edo State Government and Nigeria. She highlighted the presence of over forty Swedish companies operating in Nigeria, providing services in transportation, energy, ICT, mining, and healthcare.

Ambassador Hahn-Englund also mentioned that the Swedish Government is looking to explore further collaboration opportunities to address the issue of irregular migration in Edo State.