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UK-Nigeria 8th Economic and Development Forum: Communique 2022

At the eighth Economic Development Forum the UK and Nigeria confirm the importance of maintaining bilateral economic relations and welcome progress made

• From: British High Commission Abuja
• Published: 28 November 2022

This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government

UK-Nigeria 8th Economic and Development Forum: Communique 2022

On Monday 28 November 2022, the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment of Nigeria and the United Kingdom’s Trade Envoy to Nigeria held, in person, the eighth meeting of the Economic Development Forum (EDF). The meeting was attended by the Honourable Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, the Director General and Chief Trade Negotiator, Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiation (NOTN), the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission and the United Kingdom’s Deputy Ambassador to Nigeria. The UK and Nigeria confirmed the continued strategic importance of maintaining bilateral economic relations and welcomed progress in the following areas:

1. Both sides agreed that a deep trade policy relationship is in the interest of both the UK and Nigeria, especially as Nigeria heads into national elections in February, 2023. Both countries agreed that their economic partnership should support Nigerian and British businesses, create jobs for women and youth and secure greater investments in both directions. The inaugural meeting of the working group on Trade Policy and Market Access held on 27 September 2022. The group agreed on a Terms of Reference and exchanged policy papers to outline their respective positions and areas of mutual interest. As the EDF Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) comes to a close in 2023, the UK and Nigeria agreed to transition the EDF structure towards a potential Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership agreement, under which both sides will continue to work together to resolve market access issues and enhance economic cooperation. - 2. The UK launched its new Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) in August, 2022. Nigeria noted that it will automatically benefit from enhanced preferences under the DCTS, given that 99% of current goods exports amounting to £1.6bn per year will be eligible for duty-free, quota-free access to the UK. Nigeria also acknowledged that new tariff reductions introduced by the DCTS could save hundreds of thousands of British Pounds annually, and that this is expected to grow in products such as cocoa and fertilisers, where it is targeting global export volumes of US$1 billion and US$2 billion respectively. The UK will support specific business sectors in Nigeria that may benefit from the DCTS, through a series of technical workshops in Lagos before March 2023, to understand and better take advantage of this new trading scheme. - 3. Since EDF7, the UK Department for International Trade (DIT) has supported a number of events to increase trade and investment between the UK and Nigeria, including the West Africa Security Exhibition, the ground-breaking reception for the Afrexim Bank and Kings College Abuja Medical Centre of Excellence and the Feed Nigeria Summit. DIT also organised a Creative Industries Trade Mission which explored co-production agreements in the TV, Film and Music industries, including partnerships for equipment suppliers and a song writing camp for the Commonwealth Games. This Trade Mission has so far led to two British-Nigerian film co-productions, with upcoming premieres in February and June 2023. - 4. The UK and Nigeria welcomed the continued work of the Manufacturing Africa programme, which has supported 15 firms since the start of 2021, with the raising of anticipated foreign direct investment (FDI) of $340 million and the potential to create 6,300 direct jobs. It is leading the way on Green Manufacturing. Growth Gateway, a UK government business service supporting trade and investment between the UK and Africa, also assisted over 35 Nigerian companies with queries in 2022. This included Zaph & Zoe, an agro-processor looking for information on UK export opportunities and potential buyers. With support from Growth Gateway, Zaph & Zoe organised a visit to the UK to meet potential partners. Nigeria noted that other companies interested in UK Growth Gateway support can contact GrowthGateway@fcdo.gov.uk for more information. - 5. Both sides agreed on the continued importance of increasing tech and digital sector links. Nigeria welcomed support provided through the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, and through the Digital Access Programme (DAP) which will continue to provide technical assistance and capacity building in Nigeria for digital skills, cybersecurity and local digital economies. The UK recently presented a DAP-funded study on improving the digital regulatory environment in Nigeria through streamlining regulation. Nigeria has begun implementing the Start-Up Act, which has been legislated to create an enabling regulatory environment to support successful start-ups. Both sides noted the benefits of the UK’s deep capital markets for Nigerian tech companies seeking investment, as well as the advantages of establishing in the UK for tech start-ups looking to expand internationally.
2. Both sides welcomed the continued work of the Finance and Financial Services technical working group. As agreed at EDF7, Nigeria has expanded the membership of the working group to include more Nigerian fintech organisations. Co-chair, Ambassador Shuaibu Adamu Ahmed, happily welcomed companies like Verify-Me and Sudo Africa into the fold. The sub-group on foreign exchange and remittances met on 7 September 2022 and decided on next steps to demonstrate the commitment by operators to collaborate with the CBN. The private sector stakeholders, led by the International Money Transfer Association, are articulating a proposal to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on how to address the regulator’s concerns. Although, the sub-group on mobile money and fintech is yet to meet, there have been preliminary engagements and consultations with the key private sector stakeholders to obtain a deeper understanding of the opportunities in the market as well as constraints to market access. Following this, a date would be agreed for a meeting in the second quarter of next year to discuss key issues. The Finance and Financial Services Working Group Co-Chairs met before EDF8 and agreed on sharing the recommendations from the IMTOs and FCDO with the CBN at the EDF.
3. Both sides welcomed the update from the co-chairs of the Legal Services technical working group, Helen Grant, MP and George Etomi. In June 2022, the first tranche of the UK Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) Skills Development Series launched, in conjunction with Africa Legal. The first certified course is Legal Writing: Business Communication for Lawyers. The UK set out a proposal to hold meetings on regulatory frameworks, recognition of qualifications and non-tariff barriers to trade, as agreed at EDF7, and confirmed commitments from the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board to participate in such discussions. This proposal was shared with Nigeria in July 2022. Following EDF8, the Legal Services Working Group will look to create new forms of regulatory cooperation and sector collaboration. The UK and Nigeria agreed that this could include working towards an MoU between sectors, cooperation on qualification recognition, a system of temporary call to the bar and sharing opportunities for the promotion of each other’s legal sectors and capacity building.
4. The UK and Nigeria welcomed the 6th Business Dialogue, which was held virtually on 5 October, 2022. The issues raised were collated and forwarded to relevant government agencies for action. Officials discussed the non-availability of forex for business operations, an issue that has been raised at multiple previous dialogues as well as market entry barriers preventing greater Nigerian exports to the United Kingdom. Other issues raised in October, 2022 included trade facilitation - specifically the speed of moving goods -, the rising cost of energy prohibiting firms from scaling up and port health delays due to SPS-related issues.
5. Nigeria presented an update on the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) at EDF8. A partnership agreement has been executed between the National Action Committee on AfCFTA (NAC) and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), with Jumia as a technical partner. They are currently onboarding 10,000 SMEs in the cities of Kano, Lagos and Aba; these SMEs will have access to inter-Africa e-commerce/trading opportunities. The AfCFTA strategy has also been developed and will go for final validation on December 7th, 2022. The UK agreed to look for continued ways to work with Nigeria to effectively implement the AfCFTA. So far, the UK has supported Nigeria’s AfCFTA objectives by building the capacity of Nigerian government institutions to engage in trade negotiations and developing a framework for Nigeria’s AfCFTA National Action Committee to monitor AfCFTA implementation. The UK is further supporting AfCFTA implementation in Nigeria through technical assistance to develop regional automotives value chains, and to support Nigerian services firms to benefit from the new trade opportunities that AfCFTA will deliver.
6. The UK and Nigeria discussed further cooperation on WTO issues to ensure the effective functioning of the global trading system, which relies on fair treatment of all nations and on fostering an environment of open and fair competition. Both sides welcomed further developing bilateral engagement on WTO and multilateral trade policy issues of mutual interest.
7. Nigeria presented an update on the work implemented by the Nigerian National Quality Infrastructure Policy at EDF8. The National Quality Council has now been approved by the Federal Executive Council and set up by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF). This council oversees implementation of the policy. Nigeria also updated on outcomes from policies designed to support agriculture exports, such as the National Action Plan 7.0, concluded earlier in this year. The UK hosted a Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC)-led cross-agency fact-finding mission on 11-15 September, 2022. This mission focused on improving the standards of non-oil exports by observing procedures undertaken by regulatory agencies at UK Border Control Points. NEPC presented next steps from this mission at EDF8. The UK has also continued to support Nigerian agribusinesses in Kano, Kaduna and Jigawa through its LINKS programme. Since 2019, LINKS has facilitated investment worth £14.47m (including short term finance for 290 micro-entrepreneurs), created 2,197 full time jobs, and led to 48,494 persons increasing their incomes sustainably.
8. The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) are in the process of implementing their Trade Modernisation Project (TMP). The UK noted that it is keen to support where possible and NCS agreed to provide regular updates on the implementation of the TMP through quarterly meetings between the World Bank, Heads of Missions and the NCS Comptroller-General. In September 2022, Nigerian customs officials undertook a self-funded study tour to the UK, supported by GIZ and led by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). This mission covered post-clearance audits, big data, customs cooperation, rules of origin, HS classification and border agency cooperation. Following the tour, NCS produced internal recommendations, presented them at EDF8, and committed to implementing them. The UK also outlined a multi-year programme on capacity building, called Accelerate Trade Facilitation, funded by HMRC via the World Customs Organisation (WCO). This work is on track and a WCO delegation delivered the initial training to NCS in Abuja in October, 2022. At EDF8, Nigeria updated on the implementation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement as set out in Nigeria’s commitments, as well as on the work of the NCS-led cross-agency working group at ports, aimed at reducing delays and costs of cross border trading, and combatting illegal trade. - 13. The UK and Nigeria are developing a signed MoU for a new knowledge sharing partnership between the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and HMRC. The MoU will allow for multi-year bilateral engagement on tax administration issues including transfer pricing, country-by-country reporting and data analytics. The support is expected to enable FIRS to meet ambitious revenue targets by expanding the number of tax payers and reducing gaps in collection.
9. Since EDF7, there has been no change in Nigeria’s uptake of the UK Export Finance’s (UKEF) £1.5bn capacity to support new export businesses in Nigeria. At EDF7, Nigeria agreed to consider appropriate public sector projects that could benefit from UKEF financing and at EDF8, Nigeria proposed several potential projects. UKEF remains willing to provide guarantees for financing in Naira on a case-by-case basis. In June 2022, British International Investment (BII) announced a $20 million, four-year structured credit investment in Moove, a Nigerian-based mobility fintech aiming to democratise access to vehicle ownership in Africa by providing revenue-based vehicle financing to mobility entrepreneurs.
10. Nigeria presented on the implementation of its revised Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and Climate Change Act at EDF8. The UK confirmed continued support to Nigeria to deliver on ambitious NDC commitments at COP27 and beyond. Nigeria welcomed BII investments in companies offering solar home systems, as well as decentralised power companies providing power as a service to commercial and industrial customers in Nigeria. The UK, through the Africa Clean Energy Programme, supported the establishment of a Quality Testing Lab for stand-alone solar products to improve quality assurance. In June 2022, DIT also led a Clean Energy Trade Mission to Aberdeen with a specific focus on partnerships and opportunities. This Trade Mission featured visits to UK Clean Energy Centres of Excellence (including an EV manufacturing plant and hydrogen production station), as well as exclusive networking with Ministers and decision makers in the energy industry. DIT is actively supporting identified opportunities from this Mission.
11. Increased climate change interventions are still needed and both sides welcomed ongoing support from the UK through a range of climate-related programmes, including UK PACT, UKNIAF, the Climate Finance Accelerator Programme, and embedded climate finance advisors in the Federal Government. These programmes are being developed with the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, and focus on how best to provide technical assistance and build capacity within the Climate Finance Unit.
12. Ministers agreed to meet again in 2023 and discuss the potential UK-Nigeria Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership.

Published 28 November 2022