Nigeria Express readiness To Host 2014 World Economic Forum (WEF) On Africa

Nigeria will host the next (24^th) edition of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa in Abuja next year.

Expressing the country’s readiness on the task, Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, at the close of the 23rd edition of the WEF in Cape Town, South Africa on Friday.

According to Iweala, choosing Nigeria as the next host of the WEF is a welcome development given the country’s position and huge economic potential.

 “I think we epitomise a lot of things about Africa. We have the excitement, the passion, the entrepreneurship, the private sector drive and the glow for the future. But we also epitomise all of the difficult challenges of the continent such as infrastructure deficit, governance issues, corruption and transparency,” she said.

Iweala added that the combination of these opportunities and challenges in one country makes Nigeria the most exciting place to be on the continent.

Okonjo-Iweala said that the future of Africa was bright, judging by the commitment and passion demonstrated by participants in the forum, especially the Young Global Leaders, who represented the youths of the continent.