You were recently in Nigeria for an official visit. Can you talk us through what transpired during your visit and the takeaways?
As you rightly note, I visited Nigeria in mid-October. This was a great opportunity to meet with our strategic partners in-country, who number more than 20, and to see the remarkable progress that they are making. I was supported there by Obinna Anyanwu, who is CWEIC’s country director in Nigeria, and who continues to do incredible work on the ground.
My biggest takeaway is that Nigeria continues to show a great deal of interest in the Commonwealth, reflected in the interest that we’ve seen from businesses in becoming CWEIC Strategic Partners.
The Nigerian government is embarking on reform programmes of economic liberalisation. What is your view about these?
President Tinubu has set out an ambitious plan for economic reform since his inauguration. Though we don’t comment on the internal politics of Commonwealth member states, we’re always keen to see greater access for Commonwealth businesses and investors – the role of the private sector in driving economic growth really cannot be understated. The Commonwealth Charter explicitly recognises the importance of free flows of multilateral trade on terms fair and equitable to all. Any policies which advance that agenda are greatly welcome.
How can the Commonwealth help bolster Nigeria’s trade and FDI?
The power of the Commonwealth is in its networking potential – it’s an incredible forum for meeting new trade and investment partners. Through our network of Strategic Partners, CWEIC works to ease the expansion of that network, bringing together Commonwealth businesses.
Whenever we gather our members together, I’m struck by just how productive those conversations are. However, there are some material advantages for Commonwealth countries too. On average, Commonwealth member states enjoy 21 per cent lower bilateral trading costs, which we call ‘the Commonwealth Advantage’. There’s also the fact that the Commonwealth is home to some of the world’s biggest sources of FDI, such as the UK, Singapore, and India.
Nigeria has a weak non-oil economy competitiveness among its trade partners. What do you think is the problem and how can it be solved?
President Tinubu’s government has set out its intention to increase Nigeria’s non-oil exports, an initiative which I know to be popular amongst some of our Strategic Partners. This is, of course, a complex problem, the result of a wide variety of domestic, local, and global factors. Nevertheless, what’s clear is that Nigeria’s business community has a huge role to play here, with the capability to drive real growth in this area. Where we can, we hope to support these efforts by creating links between Nigerian businesses and international counterparts, opening up new markets and helping to facilitate business where we can.
In one of your previous discussions, you talked about opportunities in energy transition in Nigeria. What are those opportunities and how will CWEIC help the country facilitate investments in those areas?
As I have mentioned before, the energy transition – not just in Nigeria, but globally – provides a significant opportunity for businesses. This is an incredible undertaking and one which will require significant private sector capital and cooperation, whether we’re talking about energy infrastructure, new grid connections, or green technology. We’re always keen to provide forums for businesses and investors to come together, and to discuss mutually beneficial opportunities.
Given the growing global interest in the energy sector, I have no doubt that some of the most fruitful conversations in that regard will be on energy.
At the upcoming Commonwealth Trade and Investment Summit in London, we expect to be joined by a number of parties interested in this space, who will no doubt be able to have valuable conversations about tangible steps that they can take to drive investment. We’re also keen to draw attention to Nigeria’s strengths for those members of our network with an interest in this area.
Is the Commonwealth worried about Nigeria’s fast-paced gravitation towards China?
As Nigeria continues to grow at pace, it’s no secret that there has been plenty of international interest in the country. This isn’t a zero-sum game – Nigeria has the capacity to work with a variety of trade and investment partners. It is incumbent upon those partners to ensure that their offer is fair and mutually beneficial. Our role at CWEIC is to make sure that Commonwealth businesses are part of that equation, and to open doors in-country for those businesses interested in accessing Nigeria’s incredible potential. We’ve seen a great deal of interest in that mission.
How can Nigeria remove its barriers to trade?
One of the great things about the Commonwealth is its diversity – different shapes and sizes of economy, different social makeups, different geographic locations. As such, it’s important that any removal of trade barriers is tailored to the specific needs of Nigeria and its economy. That said, we’re always keen to see greater access for Commonwealth businesses. As I noted earlier, the Commonwealth Charter commits member states to ‘the freest possible flow of multilateral trade on terms fair and equitable to all’.
How will the Commonwealth facilitate trade with its African member states vis-a-vis African Continental Free Trade Area?
The African Continental Free Trade Agreement is a great opportunity for the growth of trade within Africa.
There are twenty-one Commonwealth member states in Africa, including some of the continent’s largest economies in Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya. Liberalisation of trade within Africa will undoubtedly mean more trade and investment between countries in Commonwealth Africa, particularly when we consider that 21 per cent cost advantage that I mentioned earlier. CWEIC will continue to connect businesses on the continent to one another and will support the process of intra-African trade liberalisation through our network.
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