In a significant development for regional cooperation, Nigeria has officially joined the Arab-Africa Trade Bridges Programme (AATB), becoming the 11th and newest member state of the inter-regional programme.
The major milestone AATB programme welcomed Africa’s largest economy into its fold, describing it as a “major milestone.”
Nigeria’s entry into the programme is expected to unlock vast opportunities, expand market access, and promote investment and job creation in the country.
With its large population, thriving economy, and natural resources, Nigeria stands to benefit tremendously from its membership in this programme while contributing to the growth of the collaborative framework. The collaboration will facilitate increased trade flows, technology transfer, and knowledge exchange across various sectors, leading to sustainable economic growth and development.
The AATB Secretary General and CEO of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), Hani Sonbol said: “The admission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria into the AATB Programme is a major milestone, and we are confident this new partnership with one of Africa’s economic powerhouses will strengthen investment flows and trade relations between the Arab and African regions. Given the economic potential of Nigeria, we will support the country in its quest to diversify and grow its economy and access new markets across Africa and the Arab regions.”
Nigeria now joins countries such as Morocco, Egypt, Senegal, Tunisia, Cameroon, Togo, Benin, Mauritania, Guinea, and Djibouti to harness the benefits of regional economic integration.
AATB) Program was developed in 2017 to address some of the challenges faced in promoting trade and investment between the two regions and developing inter-regional business partnerships.
The AATB Program is a multi-donor, multi-country and multi-organizations program, aiming to promote and increase trade and investment flows between African and Arab member countries; provide and support trade finance and export credit insurance; and enhance existing capacity building tools relating to trade.
The AATB Program is geared towards increasing economic integration and support sustainable growth across Arab and African countries.
Specifically, trade and investment promotion efforts will focus on sectors where significant added value is created, especially in industries that rely on a more highly skilled workforce and those which can promote greater investment and knowledge diffusion. Based on the current economic landscape in the target countries, the primary sectors where this program’s impact will be felt the most will be in manufacturing, agriculture and health & pharmaceutical industry. Yet, the Program is dynamic enough to accommodate additional building blocks to achieve the objectives.
