 UNCTAD and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) have presented the President of Nigeria, Umaru Yar´Adua, with a 15-point action plan -- called a Blue Book on Best Practice in Investment Promotion and Facilitation -- to help the country improve its performance in attracting foreign investment.
At the ceremony, President Yar´Adua thanked UNCTAD and JBIC for the Blue Book and announced that his Government had committed itself to supporting its outcome and taking ownership of its proposals.
He said, "My support and that of the Government is guaranteed for the implementation of the recommendations of this Blue Book"
All 15 measures in the book are designed to be implemented within 12 to 18 months, at little cost to the Government. Taken together, they should help Nigeria improve its investment climate, attract more foreign direct investment (FDI), open up opportunities for Nigerians, and benefit the national economy.
The measures were developed in consultation with and endorsed by different ministries and agencies of government and the private sector. They reflect the priorities set out in the President´s seven-point agenda, his Vision 20:2020 and the analysis presented in the Investment Policy Review of Nigeria, launched by UNCTAD in May 2009.
UNCTAD and UNDP have announced plans to support three of the measures. This includes a programme to help foreign investors in Nigeria make greater use of Nigerian suppliers.
UNIDO has already started implementing a measure to attract investors to the agricultural sector.
The new Blue Book is the sixth produced by UNCTAD and the JBIC for an African country or region. Previous books were developed for three East African countries (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda), Ghana and Zambia. The incremental nature of the recommendations made have ensured a high rate of implementation in these countries
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We have to create an enabling environment that instills confidence and competitiveness in the country´s private sector 
