The United Kingdom Export Finance will give loans worth £750 million to Nigerian importers for the importation of goods from its country.
Britain will soon stop enjoying the freebees of being a member of the EU trade bloc.
In order to ride over the turbulent times that will come, with the withdrawal of their right to move goods and services freely across the trade commission, its government is looking to secure new trade deals with developing countries.
The credits are denominated in naira; this will remove the constraints importers face in securing foreign currency. Importers can borrow in naira, and repay in naira, enabling them to evade foreign exchange risks and debt costs.
Nigeria and over 25 other developing countries have been selected so far. Nigeria was Britain’s top trading partner in the early 2000’s. It lost the position to Asian magnates- China and India.
Presently, Nigeria is the fifth preferred home for UK products. The country imports vehicles power generation, equipment and pharmaceuticals. Britain is the sixth choice destination for Nigerian goods.
These goods chiefly consist of rubber, cocoa and crude oil. Nigeria also receives aids from U.K agencies.
Nigeria also receives significant aid from the British Government and UK-based multinationals towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This deal is largely beneficial to the originators; it gives them a cheaper market for their produce.
Britain and Nigeria have strong foreign ties, which the more populated country should be looking to take additional advantage of.
Remittances from Nigerians in the U.K have reached as high as $20 billion, totaling 4.5% of capital inflow from the diaspora. |The population of Nigerian students in the UK stands at 18,000, which is the third highest, after China and India.