Nigeria, Middle East Trade Volume Now $19.3bn
The bilateral trade volume between Nigeria and the Middle East reached $19.3 billion in 2019 while Nigeria’s export to China was about $2billion in the form of mineral oils and fuels, oil seeds, plastics, rubber, animal products, shipping vessels and fruits.
Vice President, Strategy and Partnerships, MIE Groups, Zahoor Ahmed, revealed this at the virtual press conference organized by Zenith Exhibitions and Middle East for the inaugural edition of Connecting Trade Worldwide (CTW) with Equipment and Manufacturing West Africa (EMWA) code named EMWA & CTW Nigeria that will hold April 27 to 29, 2021, titled, “Growth and Advancement of the Industrial Sector to unlock Nigeria’s Potential,” in Lagos.
Ahmed said: “We hope EMWA and CTW Nigeria 2021 collectively will build a platform to meet these objectives at our upcoming event.”
According to him, the bi-lateral trade between the two nations is around US$19.3 billion in 2019, and Nigeria exports about US$2 billion to China in the form of mineral oils and fuels, oil seeds, plastics, rubber, animal products, shipping vessels, and fruits.
He explained that with a rich 50-year-old relationship between the two nations, the Nigerian government has continued to support China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the strategic master plan to connect Asia with Africa and Europe economically and financially, and that they strongly feel that EMWA and CTW Nigeria 2021 are just another piece in the win-win jigsaw for developing global trade relations.
Highlighting the opportunities, Ahmed noted that Nigeria is Africa’s second-largest importer of Chinese goods and China’s largest project contracting market in Africa with projects including rail and road links and power stations.
“So, with all these opportunities that we can see developing further in 2021 and beyond, our partnership with EMWA in launching CTW Nigeria is critical to kick off 2021 in a positive light,” Ahmed stated.
Also speaking, Chief Executive Officer, Trust Synergy Infrastructure Limited and Director of Kano Urban Transport, Najeeb Abdussalam said events like the coming exhibition will help the governments involved to take steps towards facilitating the African free trade agreement.
