Abuja, 5 April 2022 (TDI): On 4 April, the Foreign Minister of Nigeria, Zubairu Dada met with the Egyptian Ambassador to Nigeria, Ihab Moustafa Awad Moustafa. During the meeting, Nigeria and Egypt representatives discussed a variety of issues.
According to the Ministry of Nigeria, both discussed bilateral relations and regional issues which have common interests for both countries.Â
OVERVIEW OF NIGERIA-EGYPT RELATIONS
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, while Egypt is the second most populous across the continent. Also, Nigeria is Africa’s largest and Egypt is the third-largest economies respectively. Currently, both two states are embroiled in serious security, political, and economic problems.Â
In 2016, the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari met his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. During the meeting, Buhari and el-Sisi agreed to strengthen their bilateral relations.
As significant players in regional geopolitics, their bilateral relations keeps growing; especially on economic development and security issues. Besides, both also reached amounts of cooperation in infrastructure construction, housing development communication technology, and electricity supply.
NIGERIA-EGYPT ECONOMIC RELATIONS
Data shows that, during the year 2020, Egypt exported $136 million to Nigeria. Egypt’s exports to Nigeria have grown at an annual rate of 19.6 percent over the past 25 years. In 2020, Nigeria exported $4.2 million to Egypt. The main product exported from Nigeria is spices. In 25 years, Nigeria’s exports to Egypt increased at an annual rate of 11.6%; from $271,000 in 1995 to $4.2 million in 2020.
Moreover, in August 2021, the head of the Nigeria Commercial Office, Amr Tantawy said; the trade exchange between both countries witnessed remarkable growth during 2020. According to Tantawy, the trade reached a record $181 million, including $1 million as imports from Nigeria to Egypt.
He also mentioned that there is a boom in most of the Egyptian exports to Nigeria, to record about $180 million; which means a growth of 45 percent. With the development and progress of the two states and the deepening of cooperation, the trend of economic cooperation between the two sides is getting better and better.
NIGERIA BOOSTS SECURITY COOPERATION WITH EGYPT
According to the latest news of this year, on 1st March, during the Second Meeting of the Egypt-Nigeria Joint Military Cooperation Committee, the Defense Headquarters of Nigeria has pledged to strengthen military cooperation with Egypt to curb insurgency. Egypt has good experience regarding terrorism. On the other hand, Nigeria faces a security problem caused by Boko Haram in its northeastern region.
Back to January 2021, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt received a letter from Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari. The letter included a formal request from Nigeria to boost security cooperation with the Egyptian Government; especially combating terrorism by organizing training courses and exchanging technical expertise.
From 20 to 22 June 2018; a delegation from the Egyptian Ministry of Defense attended the 7th Meeting of Defense Ministers of the Sahel and Sahara Group in Abuja, Nigeria. Later this year, the Egyptian army has announced the establishment of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD) Regional Anti-terrorism Center in Cairo.Â
With the security support from CEN-SAD Regional Anti-terrorism Center, the Nigerian military can gain more intelligence and training on how to fight terrorism.
