Nigeria’s newest envoy to Belgium, Ambassador Obinna Onowu, on Tuesday presented his Letters of Credence to the Belgian monarch, King Philippe I, at the Royal Palace in Brussels, the country’s capital city.
This formally accredits Onowu as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the kingdom of Belgium, noted a statement issued by Mrs. Olamide Adediran, Counsellor at the Nigerian Embassy in Brussels.
During his presentation, the new envoy acknowledged the existing cordial relations between Nigeria and Belgium and highlighted the need for collaboration, especially in the areas of trade and investment, capacity building, Education, health and Information Technology in a bid to deepen economic ties between both nations.
Ambassador Onowu, who also holds concurrent accreditation to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the European Union informed King Philippe I on the need for both countries to facilitate high level visits between Government officials.
He affirmed that the Nigeria Government was particularly elated to receive the trade delegation that will visit Nigeria in the fourth quarter of 2021 and expressed optimism that the visit will further promote cooperation.
The Embassy of Nigeria in Belgium was established in 1961. Presently, there are approximately 3,500 Nigerian citizens in Belgium out of which about 350 of them are students.
Since its establishment, the Embassy has had 16 Ambassadors and Ambassador Obinna Onowu is the 17th Nigerian Ambassador to Belgium.