Key highlights
- Israel says with Nigeria’s population of approximately 200 million people, it thinks about the potential of Trade with Nigeria.
- Israel said tourism service trade between both countries for pilgrimage purposes is an area it is willing to improve.
- They add they are willing to establish diplomatic relations with countries Israel o not have ties with and share expertise with those countries.
Trade volume between Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria, and Middle – eastern technology giant, Israel is between $200 million and $250 million yearly.
This was disclosed by Israel’s Ambassador to Nigeria and Permanent Representative of Israel to ECOWAS Michael Freeman in an interview on Monday, as Freeman added that Israel is committed to improving trade volume with Nigeria.
This is clearly coming at a time when the UK finalizes plans to reduce tariffs on Nigerian exports to the UK.
Volumes
Freeman noted that bilateral trade volume between Israel and Nigeria is between $200 million and $250 million annually, urging Israel’s readiness towards deepening trade cooperation between both countries, he added:
- “It often changes due to COVID-19 and I see no reason why trade between both countries will not be reaching four times that within a very short period.
- “There is a lot we need to do to increase trade volume and that is my target; Israel and UAE established diplomatic relations in the past two to three years.
- “Within that timeframe, we have got from zero trade to close to $ 2 billion worth of trade in a couple of years. Israel has a population of 9 million people, as well as the UAE too.
- “Meanwhile, in Nigeria, there is a population of approximately 200 million people, we think about the potential of what the trade will be if we work together.”
Partnership and Tourism
Freeman noted that one area it plans to improve its partnership with Nigeria is religious pilgrimages citing that trade cooperation agreements need both sides to benefit, including services, he added:
- “We will work closely with the Nigerian government, to boost partnership in ensuring the safety of Nigerians on pilgrimage to Israel.
- “We welcome all Nigerian tourists and we want Nigerians to come to Israel and return to tell compatriots about their experiences in the Holy Land.”
He reassured of the country’s plan to work closely with Nigeria and Africa at large, in the area of sustainable security to boost trade cooperation between them, citing that Israel-Nigeria diplomatic relations have been established on mutual grounds
Diplomatic relations
He urged that Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu at a forum recently said Africa was a priority, be it East, West, Central or South Africa, particularly Nigeria, which has lots of opportunities to work together with Israel, adding that Israel I willing to share knowledge and expertise with the Nigeria government, he added:
- “We are looking to establish diplomatic relations with countries we do not have ties with yet; we will like to establish diplomatic relations and share expertise with those countries.
- “Africa is the future and Israel too is the future, so together we have the potential to do amazing things for our people; Israel is willing to work with Nigeria on security.
- “We are willing to partner with Nigeria on basis of realizing what Nigerians need; we have significant experience in homeland security, yet continue to face terrorism challenges, these are things Nigerians are aware of and have experienced.
What you should know
Spain was Nigeria’s top export destination in Q3 2022, according to recently-released foreign trade data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), after India had led for a year at the chart of top export destinations for Nigeria.
However, Spain displaced India receiving N873.62 billion worth of export goods from Nigeria, good for a 14.72% share of all exports.
Notably, this figure depicted a 15.6% decrease in exports to Spain in Q2, despite a year-on-year increase of 39.3%. Included in Nigeria’s export to Spain is N293 billion of non-oil export.
The next highest recipient of exports was India, which was Nigeria’s top destination in Q2 2022. Exports to the sub-continent fell by a significant 43.7% from Q2, amounting to N619.22 billion.
Rounding out the top five export destinations are France, which received 7.25% of all exports, worth N430.40 billion and a 34% increase from Q2; the Netherlands, receiving 7.09% of exports, but declining 54% from Q2 at N420.41 billion, and; Indonesia received a 7.00% share at N415.16 billion, a 34% decline from Q2 2022.
The top five countries accounted for 46.49% of all exports for a total of N5.93 trillion, and oil and gas products made up a dominant share.