The Iran-Nigeria Joint Economic Committee sixth meeting which is being held in Tehran from June 6 to 9, is expected to boost economic and trade development between the two countries.




During the meeting, senior officials from the two countries signed numerous economic and trade agreements regarding exchange of trade, participation in exhibitions, and facilitation of trade interactions.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Zubairu Dada led a high-level delegation to this event which was held after a seven-year hiatus.
With a population of more than 220 million, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa. The country’s gross domestic product exceeded $430 billion in 2021, making it Africa’s largest economy.

According to Iranian Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry data, the value of trade between the two countries increased from $5 million in 2019 to $18 million in 2020 and to more than $130 million in 2021.

Despite a 26-fold increase, the level of trade between Tehran and Abuja is still unsatisfactory and could be much higher.

The Director-General of the African Bureau of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran Mohammad Sadeq Qannadzadeh says that his country considers Africa, specially Nigeria, as a precious economic partner.

Qnnadzadeh added that both nations are also members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), possess rich oil and gas reservoirs, and have more than 15 percent of shares of the Islamic Development Bank, but their bilateral economic and trade exchanges is not satisfactory.

The Iranian official went on to say that statistics indicate that the volume of trade exchanges between Nigeria and Iran stood at about 125 million dollars in last year, which seems to be a tiny figure in comparison with each country’s foreign trade of around 100 billion dollars per annum.

All necessary efforts to promote bilateral economic relations have been put on agenda, including activation of joint commissions, so the Sixth Iran-Nigeria Joint Commission is held today after eight years of pause, he noted.

He pointed out that both countries enjoy economic, political and cultural commonalities and are both member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Remarkable accords and documents have been signed by both nations, which are going to be pursued by the joint commission, Qannadzadeh added.

The official went on to say that new joint projects should become operational with the help of the governments and private sectors of both countries.

In order to resolve the challenges faces with transportation, the Islamic Republic of Iran says it has already begun talks with Nigeria to resolve this issue and the two sides hope that the first Tehran-Abuja flight will be established in the next few months. Both sides are also considering establishing a shipping line between the two countries.

Meanwhile, experts have stressed that with the strengthening of diplomatic relations between Iran and Nigeria and greater attention being paid to trade development, Nigeria could also serve as a regional hub between Iran and West African countries.