UK and Nigeria to sign investment deal with focus on legal and financial services

Business and trade secretary Kemi Badenoch is in Nigeria to sign a landmark investment deal dubbed the ‘first-of-its-kind’.

An agreement will be penned on Tuesday to support trade between the two countries while creating new investment opportunities.

The department said the Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP) will be “the first the UK has signed with an African country”, in a bid to bolster trade with Nigeria, which totalled £7bn last year.

It is set to create new trading opportunities across a range of sectors, including financial and legal services, and will include Nigeria committing to tearing down barriers stopping British lawyers from practising law in the country. This could improve UK legal exports to Nigeria and improve the ability to collaborate in more creative industries too.

This comes after Britain has been looking to sign trade deals with countries and economic unions outside of Europe following the decision to leave the EU.

It has signed multiple deals with US states, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. It also signed a trade deal with Australia and New Zealand directly.

A proposed trade deal with India has however continually stalled, while a recent deal signed with Canada was suspended, in a row over beef and cheese.

Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa and one of the world’s fastest growing economies in the world according to the UK government, with the UN expecting it to almost double its population to 370m by 2050.

Badenoch will sign the ETIP alongside Nigerian trade minister Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite in Abuja. She also visited the site of a new Charterhouse school, the first UK independent school in West Africa, and met business leaders in the country.

She also witnessed the signing of a key energy deal with UK-based firm Konexa and Nigerian firm North South Power (NSP).  

Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said: This partnership with Nigeria – the UK’s first with an African country – will allow us to work together and seize the opportunities that lie ahead.

“Nigeria has one of the fastest growing economies in the world. UK businesses have already seen huge success here and I look forward to seeing how we continue to grow this relationship.

Nigerian minister for trade Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite said: The UK is one of our long-standing strategic partners with whom we share strong ties, and it gladdens me that this relationship is set to deepen as we sign the Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership.”

“This partnership will see Nigeria-UK relations move beyond one of shared history and strong ties to one of shared economic prosperity. From increasing market access and supporting our vibrant businesses, to creating more jobs and accelerate greater investments in sectors of mutual interests.”