Nigeria’s Minister of State for Industry, Trade, and Investment, Mrs. Maryam Katagum, has backed women empowerment as a major ingredient towards the development of the country, especially as the government looks to agriculture to diversify the nation’s economy.
Speaking on the theme “Women in Economic Development, Commerce and Industry”, at the 60th exhibition of Made-in- Nigeria Products, Katagum noted that women are vital to the progress of all economies and it is necessary to close all existing economic disparities hindering their success. She said resolving these issues remained paramount to the country’s socio-economic development.
“In order for women to fully harness their contributions to economic development, they require equal access to all opportunities available to men,” she said.
Katagum explained that among other things that Nigeria needed to domesticate the Buenos Aires Declaration on Trade and Women’s Economic Empowerment (2017), wherein members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) had an agreement to collaborate in making trade and development policies more gender-responsive and specifically remove barriers on women’s economic empowerment and increase their participation in trade.
In line with the development of women, however, the Minister pointed out that over time, the federal government had developed policies and institutional structures that encourage equality and aim to increase the participation of women in all sectors of the economy. Of this improvement, her ministry has successfully championed the development of MSMEs to create jobs and drive inclusive growth while also promoting the integration of Nigeria-based businesses into regional and global value chains.
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