British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, says the UK government is mulling looking beyond Europe to African countries like Nigeria for new trade deals following its exit from the European Union (EU).
Laing made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday, in Abuja.
According to her, Nigeria is critical to the UK overcoming its current economic challenge as it keeps working harder to find new markets to reap from the benefits of Brexit.
“We are still, I think, in transition post Brexit. To be honest, our economy needs to adjust to be looking more outwards away from directly our neighborhoods of Europe into markets like Nigeria.
“So we still remain very much in the market for new trade deals as we have done for example with Australia and New Zealand.
“So UK is still going through a transition but there are positives. We have opened up to migration again; I mentioned, you know, the new visa schemes.
“We have the students and so on. There are opportunities there but it is inevitable, particularly with the economic backdrop that we are facing now.
“But I think for the UK and others, since these are tough economic times and when we do not have access so easily to our immediate market, we have to work even harder to find new markets and to reap the benefits of Brexit.”
The British High Commissioner said that the new monarch, King Charles the third, also had a huge interest in Nigeria.
On expectations from the new King of Britain, Laing said: “Well, I think we are expecting good things and we are still, up till now, mourning the departure of our beloved sovereign Queen Elizabeth II who, as many Nigerians told me, was all that they had ever known.
“She had been in our lives for 70 years on the throne but we also look forward to a wonderful era under King Charles the third.
“As you know, the king met your President very recently; that is, I think, second or third meeting they have had.
“There is a real meeting of minds between the two men because they’re both passionate about climate change and environmental issues and both said that they had been campaigning for this before it was even fashionable, particularly King Charles.
“So I am expecting a lot of interest from King Charles III in what is happening in Africa, in the Commonwealth and specifically Nigeria,” Laing said.
