The UK and Nigerian governments have just made a big step together by creating a special deal to help each other with trade and investment. Ndidiamaka Eze, who works at the British Deputy High Commission, shared this news on Tuesday.
They’ve agreed on something called the Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP), which is going to make the business between the UK and Nigeria even better. This is the first time the UK has made such a deal with a country in Africa, and it’s all about making more money and opportunities in important areas like finance and legal stuff. They’re also looking to work together in new ways, like in the creative arts.
This deal is also about making it easier to do business through something called the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), which was started last year. It’s good news for Nigeria because it means less money to pay on more than 3000 products when sending them to the UK. Nearly all of Nigeria’s exports to the UK won’t have to pay these fees.
They’re also making it easier for Nigerian products like cocoa butter, sesame oil, and clothes to get into the UK without extra costs. This should help Nigeria sell more things to the UK and fits with what the Nigerian government wants to do with trade.
The UK and Nigeria have been friends and business partners for a long time, and UK companies are doing well in Nigeria, which is growing fast.
Kemi Badenoch from the UK and Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite from Nigeria signed the deal together in Abuja.
“I’m really happy to be here to start this new partnership. It’s going to make it easier for UK businesses to sell their great products and services in Nigeria and grow their presence,” said Badenoch.
Nigeria’s Trade Minister shared, “The UK is a key partner for us, and I’m excited to see our relationship get even stronger with this new partnership. It’s going to help our businesses grow, create more jobs, and bring in more investment to areas we both care about.”
They’re also going to work on making it easier to do business in education and finance, which should help companies from both countries.
There’s even a plan to bring more investment from the UK, especially from London, known for its big financial and professional services.
Nicola Watkinson from TheCityUK said, “Nigeria is an important market for us, and we’re looking forward to working more closely to make business easier and smoother.”
There’s also a big project starting in Abuja with a UK-Turkish company building a new industrial park that will create lots of jobs and help big companies work in Nigeria.
Plus, there’s an exciting energy deal between a UK company and a Nigerian power company to use 100% renewable energy, which is going to cost over £14 million but will help make things more sustainable.
Pradeep Pursnani from Konexa said, “This is a big moment for us and our partners. We’ve been working on a new way to match energy needs with renewable sources. We’re planning to invest a lot in making this happen, which will help our customers move away from fossil fuels.”
The UK and Nigeria have seen good things from working together before:
- UK exports to Nigeria were £4 billion in the year up to September 2023.
- The ETIP builds on the UK’s scheme to make it easier for Nigerian products to enter the UK without extra costs.
- They’re planning more talks and meetings to make sure businesses in both countries can take advantage of this partnership.
After this big meeting, there’s going to be a special mission from the United Kingdom to Nigeria to look for new business opportunities in fashion and beauty with UK brands.
Konexa is all set to supply clean energy thanks to agreements with Nigerian companies, and there’s a new project to provide renewable energy to a big brewery in Nigeria, marking a move towards greener industry practices.