The Standards Partnership Programme – Phase II, which officially launched in June 2024 with support from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) during the African Organisation for Standards (ARSO) General Assembly in Abuja, is designed for both countries to eliminate technical trade barriers, improve regulatory compliance, and promote export competitiveness.

Implemented by the British Standards Institution (BSI) in partnership with Nigeria’s National Quality Council (NQC), under the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the SPP Programme aims to deliver a robust quality infrastructure focused on improving standardisation, accreditation, conformity assessment, inspection, testing, and metrology services to boost UK/Nigeria’s export capacity, attract investment, and enhance trade efficiency that is aligned with global standards.

At the Nigeria National Quality Policy (NNQP) Matrix Implementation Training-of-Trainers Workshop which held last week in Lagos and Abuja, stakeholders from both the public and private sectors convened to discuss capacity building for quality compliance and the role of metrology in ensuring accurate measurement, calibration and certification of goods.

Delivering his keynote address in Abuja at the week-long workshop on “The Sustainable Provision of Metrology Services in Nigeria”, Senator George Akume, secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), emphasised Nigeria’s commitment to ensuring quality-driven economic growth, and said:

“A strong National Quality Infrastructure is essential for Nigeria’s economic diversification agenda. Improving our standards, metrology, and accreditation systems can boost non-oil exports, create jobs, and strengthen the naira. This partnership with the UK is a major step forward in achieving these goals”.

Echoing this sentiment, Osita Aboloma, Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Quality Council (NQC), welcomed the initiative, emphasising that stakeholder collaboration is crucial in achieving Nigeria’s quality and trade goals and said:

“An effective quality infrastructure will not only support the Federal Government’s economic agenda but also enhance the competitiveness of Nigerian products and services in global markets.”

The importance of data-driven quality policy implementation was highlighted, emphasising the role of metrology, accreditation, conformity assessments, inspections and testing in ensuring that Nigerian exports meet international standards, reducing rejections and improving market access.

At the event, Dr Simeon Umukoro, Trade Market Access Lead of the UK Department for Business and Trade reiterated the UK’s unwavering support for Nigeria’s economic diversification and trade enhancement efforts in line with the UK and Nigeria Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP).

“The UK and Nigeria remain strategic partners in trade and investment. By improving Nigeria’s National Quality Infrastructure, we are unlocking new opportunities to drive innovation, competitiveness, and economic growth for both nations,” said Dr. Umukoro.

The UK has signed an Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP) with Nigeria to boost trade and investment between the two countries and unlock new opportunities for UK and Nigerian businesses.

Kemi Badenoch, secretary of State, signed the ETIP alongside her Nigerian counterpart Nigerian Trade Minister Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite today in Abuja.

The Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP) is the first the UK has signed with an African country and is designed to grow the UK and Nigeria’s already thriving trading relationship, which totalled £7 billion in the year to September 2023.

This arrangement will pave the way for opportunities in sectors crucial to both economies such as finance and legal services as well as foster new collaborations in innovative areas like the creatives industry.

The visit by the Secretary of State comes a week ahead of a UK Government-led fashion and beauty trade delegation to Nigeria.

The ETIP also initiates further collaboration on the UK’s ambitious Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), launched last year which puts in place simpler and more generous trading terms for Nigeria and 36 other African countries.

Nigeria is a major beneficiary of changes introduced by the DCTS and will see tariff reductions on over 3000 products (SEE LIST OF PRODUCTS HERE), meaning that 99% of existing Nigerian exports to the UK by value will be duty free.

Tariffs have been removed on Nigerian goods which promote value addition in important non-oil export sectors such as cocoa butter and paste, sesame oil and clothing and apparel.

These changes will boost trade with the UK and support the Federal Government of Nigeria’s wider trade policy priorities.

Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said:

“The UK and Nigeria are vital partners, with longstanding historical and economic ties.

“UK businesses are already seeing huge success in Nigeria – one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

“I’m delighted to be here to sign our new enhanced partnership which will allow UK firms to export their world-class goods and services more easily and expand their footprint in Nigeria.”

Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite, Nigerian Minister for Trade 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.”

The ETIP will help to build on the significant progress already made in resolving market access barriers in the education and financial sectors, which have led to a more favourable trading environment for UK and Nigerian businesses.

In addition, through this partnership, there is an opportunity to leverage UK and international investment from the City of London, which is home to the top financial and professional services.

Nicola Watkinson, TheCityUK International Managing Director said:

“Nigeria is an important growth market for the UK-based financial and related professional services industry and TheCityUK welcomes the signing of the new ETIP. 

“We look forward to continuing our engagement through the working groups to increase market access and remove regulatory frictions.”

During the visit, Minister Badenoch will also hold a groundbreaking ceremony at Abuja’s first industrial park built by UK-Turkish construction firm Zeberced Ltd to open its support services areas at the site.

The UK government has been supporting the firm in a number of areas. The $144m industrial park is set to create 620 direct jobs and 1,650 indirect jobs and provide a base for major firms to access central and northern Nigeria.

The UK trade minister will in addition, witness the signing of a landmark energy agreement between UK based energy firm Konexa and Nigerian power generation company North South Power (NSP).

The agreement will enable Konexa to supply Nigerian Breweries PLC with 100% renewable power, promote sustainable development and clean energy adoption, and lead to infrastructure investments of over £14 million.

Pradeep Pursnani, Konexa CEO said:

“This is a very important milestone for Konexa, North South Power, Nigerian Breweries, and all our investment partners. Over the last few years, Konexa has been working on a disruptive model that matches customer energy demand with renewable energy supply. 

“We are looking forward to investing more than £120m in renewable energy generation, transmission, distribution, and battery storage solutions to help our customers transition away from the use of fossil fuel.”

The Prime Minister will host a UK-African Investment Summit in London on 23-24 April 2024. The Summit will bring together Heads of State and Government from 24 African countries with British and African business leaders. It will strengthen UK-African partnerships to create jobs and growth, supporting British and African talent in sectors such as finance and technology, and promote women entrepreneurs.

The Summit will build on the results of the UK-African Investment Summit 2020 and virtual UK-African Investment Conferences in 2021 and 2022.

The UK-African Investment Summit 2020 marked an important milestone in our partnerships with African countries and announced over £6.5bn of deals, plus a further £8.9bn of investment commitments.

By 2050, two billion people will live in Africa, more than half will be under 25. During the next two years, faster economic growth is expected across Sub-Saharan Africa than the global average.

And as the world faces the stark and shared challenge of climate change, the UK is working with African countries to support them to mitigate and adapt to its effects, recognising Africa’s abundant potential for renewable energies of the future.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

“To grow the UK’s economy, create opportunities for growth and bolster our economic security, we must deepen our ties with partners across the world.

“This summit will ensure we are able to harness the potential of our relationships across Africa and grow our economies together, making them stronger, resilient, and innovative.”

By facilitating business-to-business links, trade opportunities and investment, UK-AIS will help harness this potential for the creation of mutual prosperity, economic growth, jobs and a global transition to green energy.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Secretary, James Cleverly, working closely with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and President of the Board of Trade, Kemi Badenoch, will lead work across Whitehall to prepare for the Summit.

The Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: 

“The UK’s trade and investment relations with countries right across the African continent are delivering significant mutual economic benefits to all of us. 

“Affirming the UK’s position as a leading investor in Africa, this second African Investment Summit in London will build on our successes since 2020 which have combined the strengths, innovations and expertise of the UK and our partners across Africa to support reliable, sustainable and long-term investment.

“The UK and Africa go far when we go together.” 

The Foreign Secretary committed last December to focusing on partnerships of the future with countries whose economies, populations and ultimately influence globally are growing.

He sees countries in Africa as central to this and is seeking to build on our partnerships across the continent on the basis of respect, mutual benefit, common interests, and, most importantly, by listening to African countries’ perspectives.

To further this commitment, the UK’s HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has today, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to help increase Nigeria’s domestic revenues.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will help ensure that Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) pay the right amount of tax in Nigeria. It will also help assess tax liabilities of firms and High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs).

The UK and Nigeria have confirmed their shared interest in pursuing a potential Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP) which will offer an alternative high-profile mechanism to progress bilateral economic issues of mutual strategic importance.

This was agreed in November 2022 at the 8th and final UK-Nigeria Economic Development Forum (EDF) established primarily by former Prime Minister, Theresa May and President Muhammed Buhari in August 2018 to address market access barriers, respond to opportunities and challenges of doing business and boost bilateral trade and investment between the our two countries.

Under the ETIP, both countries will continue to work together to resolve market access issues and enhance economic cooperation.