Nigeria and Egypt are seeking to strengthen their economic ties and expand bilateral trade, which stood at $223m in 2025, as both countries explore new investment opportunities and deeper cooperation.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, made this known on Friday at the Ministerial Roundtable on “Trade and Economic Cooperation at the Centre of Pan-African Diplomacy” during the inaugural Africa-Alamein Business Forum (Go63) in New Alamein City, Egypt.
Enikanolaiye said bilateral trade between Nigeria and Egypt remained below its potential, calling for the implementation of agreements reached at the Nigeria-Egypt Business Forum in July 2025 and the proposed establishment of a Joint Investment Council to strengthen economic cooperation.
He also urged African countries to place trade and economic cooperation at the centre of Pan-African diplomacy, stressing that sustainable partnerships could only be achieved when anchored on shared economic interests.
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“For too long, we treated trade and diplomacy as separate tracks. Our partnerships endure only when they rest on shared economic interests,” he said, reaffirming that Africa remained the centrepiece of Nigeria’s foreign policy.
The minister highlighted Nigeria’s economic reforms introduced since 2023, including fuel subsidy removal, foreign exchange unification and fiscal strengthening, which he said were aimed at stabilising the economy and improving its competitiveness.
He cited economic growth of 4.43 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, a decline in inflation to 15.39 per cent in August, foreign reserves of $54.86bn as of September 24, and a reduction in the Monetary Policy Rate to 23 per cent.
Enikanolaiye also identified the launch of Nigeria’s National Single Window on March 27, 2026, and the implementation of the Nigeria Tax Act on January 1, 2026, which consolidated more than 60 levies, as measures to improve trade facilitation and create a more conducive business environment.
On the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the minister described the agreement as the continent’s most important trade instrument, noting that 50 countries had ratified it, while 39 were participating in the Guided Trade Initiative.
He said Nigeria had validated its AfCFTA Implementation Strategy, gazetted its tariff concessions, submitted its commitments on trade in services and ratified the Digital Trade Protocol in November 2025.
He further disclosed that a new air cargo corridor established in partnership with Uganda Airlines and the United Nations Development Programme had reduced freight costs by between 50 and 75 per cent.
The minister, however, stressed that effective trade integration required adequate financing, welcoming the roles of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) in facilitating intra-African trade.
According to him, the Central Bank of Nigeria directed banks to adopt PAPSS from April 2025 to support local-currency settlements and reduce the challenges associated with cross-border transactions.
Enikanolaiye proposed five measures to strengthen trade-led diplomacy across Africa, including making trade facilitation a permanent item on diplomatic engagements, addressing non-tariff barriers and expanding access to trade finance for small and medium-sized enterprises, women and young entrepreneurs.
Other measures, he said, included investing in transport and energy corridors to strengthen regional value chains and ensuring that African countries spoke with one voice during external trade negotiations.
Earlier, Egyptian Prime Minister, Dr Mostafa Madbouly, who declared the forum open, described it as a sustainable platform for dialogue and collaboration among governments, private-sector operators and financial institutions.
Egypt’s Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, Mohamed Farid, also called for stronger African economic cooperation, particularly in developing an integrated automotive industry capable of strengthening regional production and value chains.
The Africa-Alamein Business Forum, organised by the Egyptian government in partnership with Afreximbank and the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD, is scheduled to run until October 4.
The forum is designed as a permanent biennial platform to translate Africa’s regional integration objectives into concrete investments, stronger economic partnerships and expanded intra-African trade.
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