Weather Report
7.45℃
Saturday, April 20
He said the move has led to a reset in the business relationship between Nigeria and France and had created a viable platform for business from both countries to partner and improve business ties According to Abdul Samad Rabiu, “Nigeria is blessed with numerous potentials for French companies to do business across different areas, notably solid minerals, and mining, manufacturing, agriculture, associated equipment, power, food processing and even in the business of associated equipment or infrastructure for the value chains of these sectors.
Indeed, the recent African Trade Report by Afreximbank showed that despite ranking the third contributor to intra-African trade, Nigeria’s share of trade remains low considering its status as the biggest economy on the continent.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is believed to have the capacity to significantly boost intra-regional trade and break Africa’s longstanding dependence on foreign countries as export destinations and sources of imports and investment.
The report showed that though the outlook for 2021 is positive and Africa’s trade is expected to rebound strongly as global economic activity picks up and demand for African exports increases, informal cross-border trade (ICBT) remains dominant.
Despite declining by 4.7 per cent, Nigeria’s share of intra-African trade remained constant at about seven per cent and Nigeria emerged as the third-largest intra-African trade country.
The report by Afreximbank notes that ICBT, which is a key component of intra-African trade, is wide-spread in its composition and estimates that in Eastern African ICBT is very high and could be worth as much as 80 per cent of the value of formal trade in some countries.
“With things that are developing here in Africa; a regional market that has over 1.2 billion people, free trade area, growth of the labour market through young people, essentially, you cannot ignore the African market and opportunities.
With the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) coming on board, Gast noted that having a larger market created under the trade deal will be of interest to US investors seeking to expand their frontiers in African markets.
While the AfCFTA provides a vehicle for systematically dismantling trade-distorting tariffs across the continent, non-tariff barriers (such as inefficient, dilapidated or non-existent road, rail or port infrastructure and automated border systems and procedures, as well as strict phytosanitary and other administrative requirements) are often considered to be more harmful than tariffs and the leading contributor to the high cost of intra-regional trade.
South Africa was the biggest contributor to Intra-African trade, accounting for 23 per cent of total trade, in 2019.
On its part, the United States of America has unveiled an initiative called ‘Prosper Africa’ through which it aims to substantially increase two-way trade and investment with Nigeria and other African countries.
This has reinforced the need for trade partners like the United States and Europe to offer opportunities that aid trade.
Prosper Africa aims to reverse the United States’ eroding ground in African markets by providing technical assistance for U.S.
and African companies to double two-way trade and investment..
Read Full Story
![[JUST IN] Ondo APC Primary: Voters Flee As Violence Breaks Out At Voting Centre](https://www.naijanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/APC-flag-logo.jpeg){kind=logo}
