The United Kingdom and Nigeria said the trade volume between the two countries stood at £5.5 billion.

This is contained in a statement jointly signed by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo and UK Trade Envoy to Nigeria, Helen Grant, at the eighth ministerial meeting of the United Kingdom-Nigeria Economic Development Forum (EDF).

According to the statement, the total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Nigeria currently stands at £5.5 billion.

“Of this £5.5 billion, total UK exports to Nigeria amounted to £3.3 billion in the four quarters of 2022, while total UK imports from Nigeria amounted to £2.2 billion in the four quarters of Q2 (sic) 2022,” said the statement.

The statement added that the UK and Nigeria reaffirmed their commitment to deepen their trade relationship.

“It was a confirmation of their shared interest in pursuing an enhanced trade and investment partnership for increased engagement. UK and Nigeria agreed that the enhanced trade and investment partnership will offer an alternative high-profile mechanism to progress bilateral economic issues of mutual strategic importance,” the two countries explained in the statement.

The statement further noted that “under this, both sides will continue to work together to resolve market access issues and enhance economic cooperation.”

It quoted the UK International Trade Secretary, Kemi Badenoch, saying, “Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy, and I’m delighted to see our trade and investment links grow, already worth £5.5 billion. The successes of the EDF over the last four years have helped address crucial market access barriers and boosted our exchanges in key sectors such as legal and financial services.”

(NAN)