Pakistan Nigeria Eye $1 Billion Bilateral Trade Volume

Nigeria and Pakistan are hoping to increase bilateral trade to nearly $1 billion. Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Pakistan, Abioye Muhammed Bello, said during a meeting at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) that there are huge untapped potentials in the pharmaceuticals, information technology, construction and textile sectors of the two countries that can be explored through joint ventures. ALSO READ Pakistan is Now Among World’s Top 15 Countries in Cryptocurrency Adoption The news report also mentioned that bilateral trade between the two countries dropped to $146 million in 2020 from $307 million in 2019. Pakistan’s exports to Nigeria increased from $27 million to $30 million in the same period, but the imports from Nigeria to Pakistan decreased to $116 million in 2020 from $280 million in 2019. However, both nations see considerable potential to increase the trade volume to at least above $1 billion in the short run. The bilateral trade may be enhanced through improving trade and economic cooperation in the fields of Pharmaceuticals, Light Engineering Products, Surgical Instruments, Automotive Parts, Sports Goods, and Value Added Textiles, among others. Besides these sectors, the two countries may also enter into Joint Ventures in the fields of oil, gas, agriculture technology, and renewable energy. ALSO READ Foreign Office Responds to Rumors of Russian President’s Visit to Pakistan Bello said that the Nigerian High Commission will extend the best cooperation to the private sector of Pakistan for joint ventures with their Nigerian counterparts. He also underlined the need to establish more banking channels to smooth bilateral trade. “Nigeria and Pakistan share a lot of commonalities. The two countries enjoy unique geographical locations which are strategic in their respective continents,” he added.