Nigeria, Burkina Faso Private Sector Pledge Deeper Trade, Investment Ties

Nigeria and Burkina Faso are pushing to deepen economic cooperation through private-sector led trade, investment, logistics, manufacturing and digital economy partnerships.

The commitment was made in Ouagadougou during a meeting between Nigeria’s Ambassador to Burkina Faso, Amb. Syndoph Endoni, and leadership of the General Confederation of Faso Enterprises, COGEF, Burkina Faso’s main employers’ body.

In a statement, Endoni said the engagement marked a deliberate shift from government-to-government diplomacy to business-driven cooperation between both countries.

COGEF President, Idrissa Nassa, led the Burkinabè business delegation. He said the organisation was ready to build extensive partnerships with Nigerian businesses to grow bilateral trade and ease private-sector investment.

“COGEF will foster extensive economic partnership with Nigeria to significantly increase trade and facilitate investment opportunities between the Nigerian and Burkinabè private sectors,” Nassa said.

He added that COGEF would work closely with Nigerian counterparts to identify commercially viable areas of collaboration and new opportunities to strengthen the longstanding economic relationship.

Endoni said Nigeria remains open to partnerships that will broaden bilateral cooperation.

“Nigeria’s doors are open to Burkina Faso for any economic engagement and business opportunities that will further broaden our cooperation,” the ambassador said.

He noted that Nigeria attaches considerable importance to its relationship with Burkina Faso and wants economic and commercial ties significantly expanded.

The ambassador particularly called for deeper cooperation in transportation and logistics to help businesses overcome practical barriers to regional commerce and improve the movement of goods and services.

According to him, stronger transport links could facilitate the movement of Nigerian goods into Burkina Faso while connecting Burkinabè businesses to Nigeria’s large consumer market.

Endoni also disclosed that efforts are underway to reactivate joint economic mechanisms, especially the Nigeria-Burkina Faso Bi-National Joint Commission, for more structured bilateral engagement.

COGEF, formerly the National Council of Burkinabè Employers, is an umbrella body for organised private-sector interests in Burkina Faso. It engages government institutions, workers’ organisations and international partners to promote enterprise development.

The meeting comes at a critical time in West African relations following Burkina Faso’s closer alignment with Mali and Niger under the Alliance of Sahel States, AES. The three countries have formally withdrawn from ECOWAS, though talks continue on maintaining regional cooperation.

Against that backdrop, Endoni said stronger bilateral economic ties could provide a practical channel for sustaining regional connectivity despite changing political arrangements.

“Private-sector cooperation can also help preserve commercial relationships and people-to-people contacts independently of differences at the political or regional institutional level,” he said.

The ambassador said the engagement with COGEF followed a series of early outreaches since he assumed duty in Ouagadougou, aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and Nigeria’s presence in Burkina Faso.

Both sides expressed optimism that stronger private-sector partnerships would deliver tangible benefits and reinforce longstanding ties between Nigerians and Burkinabè.