The federal government has called for urgent measures to unlock the vast, but under-utilised economic potential between Nigeria and Egypt, saying that bilateral trade between both countries remains paltry at $211.2 million as of 2023.

According to the government, the situation exists, despite both countries commanding a combined population of 345 million, which is about a quarter of Africa’s population.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, raised the concern yesterday at the second edition of the Nigeria-Egypt Business Forum in Abuja.
Tuggar said the current figures of $199 million in Egyptian exports to Nigeria and $12.2 million in Nigeria’s exports to Egypt revealed the imbalance and scale of untapped opportunities even as the Developing-8 (D-8) economic bloc, to which both nations belong, targets $500 billion in intra-bloc trade by 2030.

Egypt’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Badr Abdelatty, who led a 30-member business delegation, noted that Egypt’s exports to Africa had crossed $7.5 billion yearly, out of $45 billion total exports, and pledged deeper collaboration in food security, pharmaceuticals, and localised manufacturing to turn Nigeria into a breadbasket for the region.

Abdelatty added that Egypt, which recently attained the World Health Organisation’s Maturity Level 3 for drug regulation, was poised to localise pharmaceutical production in Nigeria, ensure safe, affordable medicines for millions, and create jobs through joint ventures.