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Nigeria and Singapore sign bilateral agreement

The Port of Singapore which should hopefully be sending more to Nigeria in the near future after the agreement signing. (Image source: William Cho/Commons)

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the bilateral agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of physical evasion of taxes and on income and capital benefits between Nigeria and Singapore 

Kemi Adeosun, Nigeria's finance minister, said that the objective of the agreement was to facilitate more trade between Nigeria and Singapore. The bilateral agreement that was approved on 23 November will prevent double taxation on trade between the two countries, hoping to boost both nations and their economies. 

Singapore is a major trading partner with Nigeria and according to the IE Singapore government website, was worth US$217.6mn (S$310.8mn) in 2015. This new bilateral agreement hopes to increase this figure in the coming years. 

The minister explained afterwards in a press conference to the press that the deal will ensure that nationals or enterprises from either Nigeria or Singapore would not be taxed twice on either income or profits derived from either country. 

In addition, a bilateral air service agreement with Qatar, Singapore and Nigeria was also approved by the FEC. This is part of the Nigerian government's plan to develop as a regional hub, thus improving the economic prospective of Nigeria and potential adding another dimension to its economy, especially with the recent drop in oil price and its effect on the Nigeria economy.