BILATERAL TRADE: AMBODE MEETS BRITISH,GERMAN ENVOYS TODAY.{PHOTOS}.

                        Lagos State Governor,Mr Akinwunmi Ambode today friday said the vision of his administration t create a more prosperous and safer Lagos and transform the State into the hub of commerce and tourism in Africa remained on course and all efforts would be geared towards achieving the desired result.Governor Ambode,who spoke at Lagos House in Ikeja when he received on courtesy visit the British High Commissioner to Nigeria,Mr Paul Arkwright,said he remained committed to transforming Lagos from being the commercial hub of Nigeria to that of Africa just like London is the hub of commerce and tourism in Europe.He recalled the historical ties between Nigeria and Britain and vowed not only to continue to uphold the relationship and scale it up for the benefit of the people,but also ensure the protection of British nationals and their investments in the State.He said: ''We are doing everything to make sure that we take as much as possible from the expertise of the British companies and I want to see a situation where how London is the hub of African commerce and tourism and that is where we are going.We want to appreciate the partnership that exists between us and the British Government and by extension the partnership existing between Britain and Nigeria.We know that as Lagos continues to be the commercial capital of Nigeria ,whatever it is that we do together will obviously grow the GDP of Nigeria because 67 percent of almost all the commercial activities in the country take place in Lagos''.The Governor,who also played host to German Ambassador to Nigeria,Mr Barnhard Schlagheck,assured that the State Government would continue to improve on the partnership existing between it and other nationals,especially by creating the enabling environment for investments to thrive.Responding,Schlagheck said he was at Lagos House to further advance the relationship between his country and Nigeria and laid a solid foundation for improvement,especially with the German-Lagos relationship.He said he had been very impressed with the very impressive moves and policies pursued in Lagos under Governor Ambode,saying that Lagos has shown to Nigeria how the country can overcome the economic challenges and once again become a model for prosperity and progress.More photos below.