The United Kingdom has entered into an Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP) with Nigeria, aimed at fostering increased trade and investment between the two nations and unlocking fresh opportunities for businesses in both the UK and Nigeria.
The signing ceremony, held in the capital city of Abuja, marks a significant milestone as it represents the inaugural ETIP inked by the UK with an African nation.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) is strategically crafted to amplify the already robust trading ties between the UK and Nigeria, which amassed a noteworthy sum of 7 billion euros in 2023.
The UK’s Minister for Business and Trade, Kemi Badenoch, who played a pivotal role in finalizing the agreement, emphasized the enduring cultural bonds between the two countries.
She emphasized the shared commitment to a common law system, which serves as the bedrock for contractual engagements and financial transactions.
This groundbreaking partnership sets the stage for an era of heightened economic cooperation, poised to bolster trade volumes and catalyze investment flows between Nigeria and the UK. With mutual interests and aligned objectives, both nations stand poised to reap the rewards of this historic collaboration.
Badenoch also noted that the ETIP will build on the UK Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) which provides simpler and generous trading terms for Nigeria.
“Nigeria is a main beneficiary of changes introduced by the DCTS and will see tariff reductions on over 3000 products meaning that 99 percent of Nigerian exports to the UK by value will be duty-free.
“Tariffs have been removed on Nigerian goods in important non-oil export sectors such as cocoa butter and paste. Sesame oil, clothing and apparel.
“We must be committed to implementing and building on what we have signed because this now is where the hard work begins.
“We must continue to work together to ensure all of the agencies of our governments deliver on the contents objectives,” she added.
The UK government has been supporting the firm in several areas. The $144 million industrial park is set to create 620 direct jobs and 1,650 indirect jobs and provide a base for major firms to access central and northern Nigeria.
The UK trade minister would in addition, witness the signing of a landmark energy agreement between UK-based energy firm Konexa and Nigerian power generation company North South Power (NSP).
The agreement would enable Konexa to supply Nigerian Breweries PLC with 100 per cent renewable power, promote sustainable development and clean energy adoption, and lead to infrastructure investments of over £14 million.
Konexa CEO Pradeep Pursnani said: “This is a very important milestone for Konexa, North South Power, Nigerian Breweries, and all our investment partners. Over the last few years, Konexa has been working on a disruptive model that matches customer energy demand with renewable energy supply.
“We are looking forward to investing more than £120 million in renewable energy generation, transmission, distribution, and battery storage solutions to help our customers transition away from the use of fossil fuel.”
UK exports to Nigeria were £4 billion in the 12 months to the end of September 2023, an increase of three per cent in current prices from the 12 months to September 2022. Of this, £1.3 billion were goods and £2.6 billion were services.
In her remarks, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Nigeria, Doris Uzoka-Anite said that the implementation of the treaty stands to boost trade investments, and market access for both countries.
“The UK is one of our long-standing strategic partners with whom we share strong ties, and it gladdens me that this relationship is set to deepen as we’ve signed the ETIP agreement.
“The partnership will increase market access and support vibrant businesses, to create more jobs and accelerate greater investment in sectors of mutual interest.
“This agreement will reduce barriers to business and trade between both our countries,” she said.
Uzoka-Anite also added that the Ministry is diligently working to ensure that they remove barriers that hinder local businesses from succeeding, growing and expanding into other markets.
“ At the moment I’m currently negotiating our accession into the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) Agreement – which is posited to be the largest free trade area in the world, with a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 3.4 Trillion dollars and access to a market of over 1.3 Billion people spread across 54 member states of the African Union,” she said.
NAN
