Nigeria and the UK sign new bilateral trade deal as part of London's post-Brexit strategy

NIGERIA and the UK have just signed a new investment deal a that aims to boost bilateral trade and reduce commercial barriers between both nations as Britain seeks to strengthen ties with its former colonies as part of a post-Brexit plan.

Kemi Badenoch, the UK's Nigerian-born business and trade secretary, helped seal the agreement, known as an enhanced trade and investment partnership. It was agreed in the Nigerian capital Abuja today between the UK Department for Business and Trade and the Nigerian ministry of trade and industry.

According to the British delegation, this is the first such deal struck between the UK and an African country. While the agreement will not entail substantive changes in regulation or market access, it will establish working groups staffed by government officials and private sector representatives.

Britain hopes that this will lead to the removal of trade barriers, boost investment and unlock opportunities for the UK’s dominant services sector. This partnership comes as the UK is struggling to pin down new full free trade agreements since leaving the European Union, despite Brexit proponents touting deeper relationships with overseas states as a key benefit following the UK’s split with the bloc.

Talks with Canada for instance have been paused, negotiations with India are dragging on for longer than expected and a full federal-level deal with the US appears to be off the table. Trade between the UK and Nigeria totalled £7bn ($8.8bn) in the year to September 2023 and it is hoped that this deal will expand that.

Today’s agreement will see Nigeria work towards removing barriers which currently prevent lawyers from practicing international and foreign law in the country. It will also pave the way for further collaboration in film and media and encourage UK education businesses to expand into Nigeria.

Ms Badenoch said: “Nigeria has one of the fastest growing economies in the world. UK businesses have already seen huge success here and I look forward to seeing how we continue to grow this relationship.”

Already, the two countries have removed restrictions on trans-national education investment in Nigeria as part of this pacy. Also, the Central Bank of Nigeria has liberalised the country’s foreign exchange market, streamlining multiple foreign exchange windows into a single import and export window, which should make it easier for UK businesses to trade with the country.