Sweden is committed to supporting Nigerian youth – Ambassador
Sweden’s ambassador to Nigeria, Carl Michael Gräns, has expressed his country’s commitment to supporting young Nigerians in their efforts to achieve remarkable achievements.
When Gräns spoke alongside the opening of a Swedish honorary consulate in Lagos on Thursday, Gräns said that many of the new startups in the country were young people who are passionate about development and social change.
According to him, there is a growing number of Nigerians who will study in Sweden, and adds that the diplomatic mission will do its best to make the exchange of education more enjoyable.
Gräns said that the exchange of education was not just about economic development but in a broader perspective more about social development.
He said: “Regularly we get visits from Nigerians who went to school in Sweden and decided to start a business. If these companies are socially profitable, as they usually are, we approve them. ”
He said that many companies experienced challenges as a result of the pandemic, but they could move forward by finding innovative ways to manage their affairs.
“The operations seem to be quite positive for the outlook for 2022.
“We want to continue our cooperation with different states and also support the development and hopefully do more business in the future.
“Lagos is a very large city but also has major challenges when it comes to traffic and waste management, which was one of the topics for Nordic-Nigeria Connect held last year,” said the ambassador.
In 2021, four Nordic countries, consisting of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, pledged their support for the Lagos state government efforts to transform the megacity into a sustainable smart and green city.
The conference focused on how to develop a circular and smart economy with a special focus on waste and sewage management, green energy and green transport.
According to Gräns, collaborations and projects are currently underway to realize the deliberations from the conference.
“We hope that all business initiatives towards a greener Lagos will turn out well.
“We want to show Swedish and other Nordic companies active and quite successful in green energy that we can work together to make Lagos a better place to live.
“It’s about making the environment a better place for people,” he said.
(NAN)