Post by Trade Coach on Jun 28, 2013 8:31:03 GMT 1
TRADE relations between Nigeria and the United Kingdom may have received a boost this year as non-oil trade volume between the two countries has hit £7 billion in the first quarter.
Indeed, President of the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce, Thomas Awagu, who confirmed the figure to The Guardian, Thursday, at the yearly general meeting of the chamber in Lagos, explained that though bilateral trade between Nigeria and the UK remained strong, there are high expectations that the flow of trade between the two countries would increase and surpass the £8 billion target set for 2014.
British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Peter Carter had revealed earlier in the year that trade relations between Nigeria and UK will hit N1.920 trillion ($12.2 billion) by 2014, since bilateral trade volume between the two countries stood at N960 billion ($6.1 billion) as at the end of 2012.
Carter, during a visit to the Lagos state Governor, Babatunde Fashola, had stated that his country was working to remove some of the barriers to the issuance of UK visas for Nigerian businessmen to ensure seamless flow of trade between the two countries.
Awagu, however noted that except grey areas concerning the proposed visa policy by the United Kingdom are effectively addressed, the growing volume of trade between Nigeria and the UK may begin to decline once the policy is implemented.
He noted that the proposed policy would definitely negate the joint commitment by Prime Minister David Cameron and President Goodluck Jonathan to double the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries by 2014, just as it would hinder people-to-people contacts, which is one of the cardinal principles of the Commonwealth.
He said: “If you take for instance, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) scheme was developed by the United States to help African countries export agricultural products to the U.S. The British Government believes in the potential Nigeria offers. If the proposed policy is implemented, the move is bound to affect relationship between Nigeria and Britain.
“Most times, people visit to not only for vacation but to seek opportunities for investments. The policy is an ill-thought one. It will affect both bilateral and cultural relationships between Nigeria and Britain. The Nigerian government has already reacted to the move and I believe amendments would be made but if that is not done, relationships will suffer.
“The chamber has remained focused in promoting bilateral business and trading activities between Nigeria and Britain’s private sector by creating enabling platform for both indigenous and foreign business partnership. We hope to sustain this in order to boost trade relations between the two countries.”
He added that as part of efforts to aid the realization of the chamber’s goals, the chamber signed an agreement of cooperation with the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) to create a strategic alliance to such end.
Source: www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=125755:non-oil-bilateral-trade-between-nigeria-britain-hits-p7b-in-q1&catid=31:business&Itemid=562
Indeed, President of the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce, Thomas Awagu, who confirmed the figure to The Guardian, Thursday, at the yearly general meeting of the chamber in Lagos, explained that though bilateral trade between Nigeria and the UK remained strong, there are high expectations that the flow of trade between the two countries would increase and surpass the £8 billion target set for 2014.
British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Peter Carter had revealed earlier in the year that trade relations between Nigeria and UK will hit N1.920 trillion ($12.2 billion) by 2014, since bilateral trade volume between the two countries stood at N960 billion ($6.1 billion) as at the end of 2012.
Carter, during a visit to the Lagos state Governor, Babatunde Fashola, had stated that his country was working to remove some of the barriers to the issuance of UK visas for Nigerian businessmen to ensure seamless flow of trade between the two countries.
Awagu, however noted that except grey areas concerning the proposed visa policy by the United Kingdom are effectively addressed, the growing volume of trade between Nigeria and the UK may begin to decline once the policy is implemented.
He noted that the proposed policy would definitely negate the joint commitment by Prime Minister David Cameron and President Goodluck Jonathan to double the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries by 2014, just as it would hinder people-to-people contacts, which is one of the cardinal principles of the Commonwealth.
He said: “If you take for instance, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) scheme was developed by the United States to help African countries export agricultural products to the U.S. The British Government believes in the potential Nigeria offers. If the proposed policy is implemented, the move is bound to affect relationship between Nigeria and Britain.
“Most times, people visit to not only for vacation but to seek opportunities for investments. The policy is an ill-thought one. It will affect both bilateral and cultural relationships between Nigeria and Britain. The Nigerian government has already reacted to the move and I believe amendments would be made but if that is not done, relationships will suffer.
“The chamber has remained focused in promoting bilateral business and trading activities between Nigeria and Britain’s private sector by creating enabling platform for both indigenous and foreign business partnership. We hope to sustain this in order to boost trade relations between the two countries.”
He added that as part of efforts to aid the realization of the chamber’s goals, the chamber signed an agreement of cooperation with the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) to create a strategic alliance to such end.
Source: www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=125755:non-oil-bilateral-trade-between-nigeria-britain-hits-p7b-in-q1&catid=31:business&Itemid=562
