Nigerian leader vows to address double taxation avoidance issue
NEW YORK, Sept. 28 (Yonhap) — Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed to make efforts to quickly resolve the issue of double taxation avoidance with South Korea.
South Korea and Nigeria signed a double taxation avoidance agreement in 2006 to help boost two-way investment and trade, though the West African country has yet to complete its domestic procedures.
Buhari made the pledge during summit talks with South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Sunday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, according to Cheong Wa Dae, South Korea’s presidential office.
Park asked Buhari to address the dispute over South Korea’s oil exploration rights in Nigeria.
The Korea National Oil Corp. won offshore oil exploration licenses in 2006, but Nigeria revoked the licenses three years later, claiming South Korea’s state-run oil firm had not fully paid the investment it pledged.
In 2009, KNOC won a lawsuit against Nigeria over the oil exploration rights, though no progress has been made since then for a smooth resolution of the dispute.
Buhari, who took office in May, expressed his commitment to addressing the dispute, according to South Korea’s presidential office.
Buhari also voiced hope that South Korean companies will participate in Nigeria’s project to privatize its electricity sector, noting his country is suffering problems in generation and transmission of electricity.
