Trade between Nigeria and Egypt reached $315 million in 2024, according to Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Badr Abdelatty.
He made this announcement at the Nigeria-Egypt Business Forum, held at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, and attended by Naijaonpoint.
Top government officials, business leaders, and diplomats from both countries were present at the event, where stakeholders discussed opportunities in key sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure, energy, and transportation.
As disclosed by Abdelatty, “Trade between both countries grew from $187 million in 2023 to $315 million in 2024.”
“We must diversify the nature of our trade and fully leverage the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement,” Abdelatty stressed.
On his part, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar, expressed concern over the low volume of bilateral trade between the countries, highlighting that it stood at $211.2 million in 2023, with Nigeria’s exports accounting for only $12.2 million.
“The D-8, comprising Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Türkiye, represents a formidable economic bloc.
“Despite the significant potential, bilateral trade between Nigeria and Egypt within this framework remains notably low, with total trade volume at approximately $211.2 million in 2023.
“Given this vast, under-utilized market and the current trade imbalance, Nigeria and Egypt must actively contribute to the D-8 Leaders’ ambitious target of increasing intra-D-8 trade to $500 billion by 2030,” he advised.
Amid calls for an increase in Nigeria-Egypt trade, both countries rank among the top in foreign remittances received into Africa.
Nigeria continued to serve as a key remittance hub, driven by its large and engaged diaspora.