EU Head of Corporations, Mr Massimo De Luca, inspecting a made-in-Aba shoe at Umuehilegbu Shoe Market, Aba
EU expresses desire to make Made-In-Aba products gain global market access
*As Govt., EU Partner To Give Support To Local Industries
From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia
The European Union has expressed its desire to make made-in-Aba products to gain global acceptance.
This is coming against the backdrop of the partnership between the Governor Alex Otti-led administration and the European Union (EU) and other international agencies targeted at strengthening local industries in Abia State expected to drive sustainable economic growth.
Such support to local Industries, according to Governor Otti, would enhance their productivity and address their challenges, including power, automation and standardization.
The EU Head of Corporations, Mr Massimo De Luca, disclosed EU’s mission at Umuehilegbu Shoe Market in Aba, when his delegation and abia State government team toured selected facilities and businesses in Abia state. The EU delegation was on a two-day tour of Abia State.
Mr. De Luca assured the traders of EU’s extensive support to enhance their productivity, quality standards, and international competitiveness.
Mr. De Luca highlighted EU’s ongoing collaborations with international bodies such as the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the German Cooperation to support the leather sector, focusing on quality standards, value chains, and improved manufacturing practices.
He commended the resilience and creativity of the artisans and pledged that the EU would develop tailored programmes that would directly support traders and artisans, as well as integrate made-in-Aba products into global markets.
“I was very keen to be here actually. It is a dream come true because I’ve always heard about Abia, Aba shoes and leather. I do believe that the name of Abia is a name that deserves all the attention and all the respect worldwide.
“We believe in putting Abia first. This is what we need to fight for, to make Abia products renowned worldwide,” De Luca emphasized.
Addressing the traders, Governor Otti, represented by his Special Adviser on Trade and Investment, Chief Nwaka Inem, said that the government was committed to giving the traders and other business people all necessary support to make them more productive.
He said that the idea behind the facility tour was to identify and assess some of the challenges facing local entrepreneurs and investors so that government and its partners would be able to optimise what the entrepreneurs are doing.
“The whole idea is to assess some of your deficiencies so that we will be able to optimise what you are doing here. We’ve seen the environment, you are desirous to show us what you do here but what we are seeing here is like a graph, we’ll plot it and know. We’ve just seen the basics you have, and we are going to jot it down, the Ministry and the PPP agency.
“We’ve seen your challenges, we are equally going to be interfacing with the traders to make sure that not only that the environment is made better than this, you’ll produce better and you’ll do better quality.
“Like I said, this is a period that you have to be proud of what you are doing, not to say that your products are inferior, it can be better than you are doing presently and God will bless you.
“We will come back and draft a support mechanism that will help you do better in your business and in your trade. So, thank you very much for the cooperation, for the things we have are seen so far,” Gov. Otti said.
Other places toured by the team included Rossies Garments Industry limited, Geometric Power Limited, Aba, among others.
