{"id":354778,"date":"2026-04-27T02:31:49","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T01:31:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/?p=354778"},"modified":"2026-04-26T20:47:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T19:47:12","slug":"nigeria-customs-malaysia-strengthen-bilateral-agreement-as-trade-hits-1-82tr-in-5-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/?p=354778","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria Customs, Malaysia Strengthen Bilateral Agreement &#8230;.As Trade Hits 1.82tr in 5 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"<div dir=\"auto\">The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has advanced its strategic engagement with the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD).<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">This followed an official visit by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, to the RMCD Headquarters on the sidelines of his participation at DSA Malaysia 2026.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The engagement comes against the backdrop of expanding bilateral trade, with Nigeria\u2019s imports from Malaysia increasing from NGN 159.9 billion in 2020 to NGN 716.0 billion in 2024, and cumulative trade value reaching approximately NGN 1.82 trillion over a five-year period.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The Nigeria customs boss was received by the Director-General of the Royal Malaysian Customs Department, Dato\u2019 Haji Amran bin Haji Ahmad, whose appointment in March 2026 reflects a strong reform-oriented leadership in enforcement and regulatory administration.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Both leaders held high-level discussions focused on institutional collaboration, customs modernisation, and coordinated border management frameworks to strengthen efficiency and regulatory integrity.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The Comptroller-General emphasised that the scale and trajectory of Nigeria\u2013Malaysia trade relations necessitate a more structured and formalised customs-to-customs partnership.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\u00a0He noted that Malaysia remains a significant trading partner to Nigeria, with key imports including crude palm oil, refined palm olein, jet fuel, food preparations, machinery, and other industrial inputs.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">He further underscored the critical role of customs administrations in facilitating legitimate trade while safeguarding national economic and security interests.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Both administrations acknowledged the absence of a formal legal framework guiding bilateral customs cooperation despite longstanding trade relations.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">To address this gap, both parties agreed to initiate processes toward establishing a Mutual Recognition Agreement under the framework of the World Customs Organisation (WCO), to be pursued through appropriate diplomatic channels.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">This initiative is expected to provide a structured basis for cooperation, enhance mutual trust, and support reciprocal trade facilitation measures.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The engagement also provided an opportunity for the Royal Malaysian Customs Department to present its evolving border management architecture, including the establishment of the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) as an integrated frontline border control body.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">In his aresponse, the Comptroller-General highlighted the Nigeria Customs Service\u2019s Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) programme and other trade facilitation frameworks designed to ensure predictable clearance processes, reduce transaction costs, and strengthen compliance.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Both sides emphasised the importance of deeper collaboration in intelligence sharing, enforcement coordination, and technology-driven border management, particularly in addressing illicit trade and transnational trafficking.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">To this end, the NCS reiterates its commitment to strengthening bilateral and multilateral partnerships as part of its broader modernisation agenda.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The Service noted the outcome from this engagement will enhance operational capacity, improve trade facilitation, and reinforce border security, while supporting Nigeria\u2019s economic growth objectives.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">As part of ongoing efforts to deepen institutional collaboration, the Comptroller-General also used the opportunity to visit the Nigerian\u00a0 Diplomatic Mission and Defence Office in Malaysia, commending their roles in advancing Nigeria\u2019s interests and supporting nationals abroad.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has advanced its strategic engagement with the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD). This followed an official visit by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, to the RMCD Headquarters on the sidelines of his participation at DSA Malaysia 2026. The engagement comes against the backdrop of expanding bilateral trade, with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67315,"featured_media":354800,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-354778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-maritime"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/67315"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=354778"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354778\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":354815,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354778\/revisions\/354815"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/354800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=354778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=354778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=354778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}