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Nigeria’s free zones can boost EU trade, says NEPZA - PUNCH
The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority has called on the European Union to integrate Nigeria’s Special Economic Zones scheme into European value chains as part of efforts to boost economic growth, deepen industrialisation and strengthen EU–Nigeria trade relations.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NEPZA, Olufemi Ogunyemi, made the call on Monday during a trade and investment facilitation meeting held at the European House in Abuja, according to a statement issued by the authority.
Speaking before European ambassadors, heads of delegation of European Union member states and representatives of the European Commission and the European External Action Service, Ogunyemi said Nigeria’s Free Trade Zones could serve as strategic platforms for expanding economic cooperation between Europe and Africa at a time of major global economic realignment.
“It is a privilege to address this distinguished gathering at this critical moment in global economic history. Our discussion today examines how Nigeria’s Free Zones, under NEPZA’s strategic framework, can serve as effective platforms to enhance EU–Nigeria economic cooperation amid significant structural change,” he said.
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Ogunyemi noted that the global economic order was shifting from a predictable, rules-based system to one increasingly shaped by geopolitical pressures, supply chain disruptions and shifting alliances, arguing that Nigeria’s economic zones offered Europe an opportunity to diversify its partnerships.
“As the global order shifts from a predictable, rules-based system to one shaped by shifting alliances and economic pressures, the European Union should increasingly leverage Nigeria’s Special Economic Zones to expand and deepen our existing economic partnership,” he stated.
He added that recent policy directions by EU leaders emphasised economic resilience, strategic autonomy and diversified supply chains, values he said aligned strongly with Nigeria’s free zone framework.
“We recognise how EU leaders have articulated a vision of European independence and economic strength rooted in diversified, resilient and strategically aligned partnerships rather than reliance on a narrow set of global suppliers or geopolitical arrangements,” Ogunyemi said.
According to him, increased European economic activity along Nigeria’s Special Economic Zone corridors would not only reduce concentration risks but also safeguard critical supply chains while boosting investment flows into West Africa’s fast-growing markets.
The NEPZA boss further observed that the European Union’s ongoing economic realignment underscored the need for mutually beneficial partnerships between Europe and Africa, especially in areas of industrial production, manufacturing and services.
He explained that while the EU remained Africa’s largest trading and investment partner, the structure of trade between both regions continued to pose strategic challenges.
“Even as we acknowledge that the European Union is Africa’s leading partner in trade and investment, with trade in goods between the two continents amounting to nearly €355bn in 2024 and trade in services exceeding €100bn, the persistence of a trade structure dominated by Africa’s raw material exports presents a shared strategic challenge,” Ogunyemi said.
He warned that overreliance on primary commodity exports without meaningful value addition limited industrial growth, constrained human capital development and threatened the long-term sustainability of supply chains between Africa and Europe.
According to him, targeted investment in Nigeria’s Special Economic Zones could help address these imbalances by promoting manufacturing, processing and export-oriented industries that support job creation and technology transfer.
The meeting was attended by ambassadors of European countries, heads of EU member state delegations, as well as officials of the European Commission and the European External Action Service.
