INTERVIEW: Belgian firms to partner with Nigeria for vaccine production — Ambassador

The Belgian Ambassador to Nigeria, Pieter Leenknegt, recently spoke with PREMIUM TIMES about the evolving trade relations between the two countries, Belgium’s support for Nigeria’s energy transition, growing investments in agriculture and pharmaceuticals, and the future of bilateral relations.

Here is an excerpt of the discussion.

PT: Last year, Belgium introduced a policy limiting sulphur in fuel exports to Nigeria and other West African countries. This had some negative impacts on such countries. Can you speak on why the policy was made?

Mr Leenknegt: Okay, I like that question a lot, because it generates such a cascade of other questions. So, at first, yes. Belgium introduced this regulation on export qualifications for fuel to West Africa last year, you’re correct. It’s also important to note that it wasn’t the first country to do that in the EU.

The Netherlands went before us the year before. So, at that time, many eyes were on Belgium to take a similar measure, and typically, there was a lobby, I think, from mostly NGOs, third-world-minded NGOs, that wanted to get this straight.

This is actually quite an interesting piece of regulation, because usually, when a regulator takes an initiative to protect public health, that, in the end, is what it’s all about, with these sulphur levels. You do it to protect your own consumers.

Now, in this case, it actually protects consumers elsewhere in the world from a product that you produce and then export. So, that’s quite novel, and I can imagine, as you explained it, that since in that way you do also then meddle, so to speak, with another jurisdiction, you may also run into the law of unintended consequences, such as price effects and this and that. So, in the end, you end up regulating far more than just public health, but actually also market conditions, economic conditions and all of that.

Some green parties in our government coalition pushed very hard for the country to take this kind of initiative, also to protect health, the environment, both at home and abroad. But, as you say, there can sometimes be consequences.

PT: Considering these changes, is Belgium engaging Nigerian regulators or refineries in any transition strategy or technology support to align fuel standards?

Mr Leenknegt: Well, this is only relevant as long as Belgium and other European countries export fuel or refined petroleum to Nigeria.

There’s something very absurd and illogical about all of that. There’s no reason why West African countries shouldn’t be refining their own petroleum products, and there’s even less reason now that there is the Dangote refinery in Lekki that is claiming to do exactly that. So, I’d say, henceforth, the ball is even more squarely in the court of the Nigerian regulator than it was in the Belgian regulators.

If our assumption, I think that assumption is fair, that in the near future, most of the petroleum in Nigeria, both produced and consumed, by the way, in Nigeria, would also be refined in Nigeria. It would be squarely in the remit of the Nigerian regulator to then decide what it thinks are acceptable sulphur levels for the public health of its own population.

PT: Interestingly, you mentioned the Dangote refinery. As Nigeria moves toward local refining, how does Belgium view its commercial interest, given its role as a major supplier? And how does it align with Nigeria’s goal of increasing local production?

Mr Leenknegt: I mean, interests and strategies and political strategies about trade always run into natural limitations. And those natural limitations are the laws of supply, demand and competitive advantage, and as from the moment Nigeria is able to produce as good a product in terms of refined petroleum as Belgium does, then of course, who would Belgium be to oppose that?

Clearly, this is not going to be without any consequences for our bilateral trade in the short run, because we are the top importing European country into Nigeria. I mean, it can’t be said enough, because it sounds almost out of this world.

Belgium represents 40.1 per cent of (European) imports into Nigeria, most of it being refined oil. Now, we’ve seen a bit of a dip in that export in 2024. Still, I wouldn’t call that significant for that particular product, because you saw a dip generally in exports from Belgium to Nigeria, and even from some imports from Nigeria to Belgium. But that’s not the Dangote refinery effect. It’s, I’d say, the purchasing power dip effect in Nigeria, which just makes Nigerians have fewer dollars and euros to spend on purchasing goods abroad. So, I’m still waiting to have that Dangote effect show up in our trade statistics, but I do expect it in 2025.

Now, what does Belgium wish for, I think, and it’s not very different from what Nigeria wishes for, I guess. We’ve been hoping for a diversification of our trade for the longest time. For a move away from petroleum products, because it’s just not very healthy for any economy to depend too much on that.

As I already answered after your first question, it’s also not very logical for petroleum to be first shipped from Nigeria to Europe, then to be shipped back, refined in Europe to Nigeria. There’s no sound logic for that. So, it’s also a matter of common sense that our trade in the future will be more about other products, and an interesting development in that regard is also if you look in the other direction. The exports from Nigeria to Belgium are just a fraction of the value of the exports from Belgium to Nigeria. By the way, this is also where Belgium is the odd man out in Europe. We’re one of the very few European countries with a trade surplus with Nigeria. Most of our neighbouring countries have a trade deficit.

So, because of all this refined oil departing from the port of Antwerp to Nigeria, there is a trade surplus. But what Nigeria imports into Belgium historically has also been mostly crude oil. Now, that is no longer true in 2024, because now cocoa has overtaken crude oil as a main product of export to Belgium.

So, we can already notice the diversification a little bit, but we want to see much more of it.

Also, let’s be clear, this whole thing about fossil fuels, Europe wants to get rid of them. We want to move to a net-zero world, and so it doesn’t make much sense that our trade relations would rely so much on fossil fuels. It’s a thing of the past.

It’s a dinosaur of the 20th century that we have to bury before too long.

PT: Belgium is one of Nigeria’s top trading partners, largely due to fuel. You’ve suggested that trade may soon shift to other sectors. Besides cocoa, are there any other areas where you see future trade growth?

Mr Leenknegt: I am mostly thinking of Belgian exports to Nigeria, because that’s where you’ll probably see the biggest decline in one product, and therefore the biggest question mark as to what the other sectors would be. So what we definitely have had historically is imports of all kinds of machinery, including agricultural machinery, but also sometimes household appliances from Belgium to Nigeria. Pharmaceuticals are also a big export product for Belgium worldwide, and there’s also no reason why a market as big as Nigeria should not be interested in getting some of our products, and sometimes also some of our investments for local production. The health sector is also quite a bit broader than just pharmaceuticals. There are also medical appliances that we can definitely supply, and high-quality ones for that matter.

PT: Much of Belgium’s trade with Nigeria occurs within the broader EU framework. Are there specific sectors that Belgium is lobbying the EU to prioritise in West Africa?

Mr Leenknegt: Trade policy is 100 per cent European. Since the 1960s, we have had a common trade policy, and since the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009, it’s in exclusive competence of the European Commission. So when it comes to negotiations on trade, it’s the European Commission that is fully in the driving seat. So we give them a mandate, and then they negotiate on our behalf.

Now, we are actually very much on the expecting side for some signals from the Nigerian side on our proposals for an economic partnership agreement, which would be all-encompassing, which would involve trade, but also other economic sectors, also involving environmental trade-offs and arrangements. There were some hopeful signs at the beginning of this new Tinubu administration that there would be an increased interest in concluding an economic partnership agreement, which, by the way, the EU always prefers to do wherever possible in Africa at a sub-regional level.

That would be the EU and ECOWAS. It could also be done with only Nigeria, which would still cover over half of the population and over half of the trade with ECOWAS, of course. But we’re still waiting for some confirmation and reassuring signals from the administration that they’re really very eager and keen to get that arrangement done, because that would be the up-to-date new framework for such trade.

Same for what we call investment facilitation. There is what we call a SIFA. The Substantive Investment Facilitation Agreement that the EU is offering and that we have with other countries in Africa already. But where we are basically now is awaiting Nigeria’s reaction and negotiations to get that done. So the ball is fully in the court of Nigeria for now.

PT: You talked about pharmaceuticals earlier, and I want to go next to that. If Nigeria reduces its reliance on imports, that would naturally affect major suppliers like Belgium. How does Belgium balance its commercial interests with Nigeria’s push for local production?

Mr Leenknegt: It is not at all a problematic kind of scenario, I must say. In March last year, the Coordinating Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, was in Brussels, where he concluded a memorandum of understanding with a Belgian pharmaceutical, a vaccine-producing company, that has much added value and has specific expertise in locally producing vaccines in countries in the global south, including in the sub-region. They already do that in Senegal.

They also work in South Africa. And so they have some revolutionary technologies which allow them to produce at a fraction of the cost in countries in Africa and also at a fraction of the size of those mammoth vaccine-producing factories as we know them in other places in the world, and as we also previously knew them in Europe. That MOU has been signed.

I should also add that we, as Belgium and as an embassy, are very often in talks with Abdu Mukhtar, coordinator of the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC). We are fully aligned with the logic of developing and unlocking the health value chain in Nigeria. So that kind of collaboration could be part of it.

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This being said, if you want to make it a collaboration and a joint venture, you also need to be able to lean on local expertise here. Now, when it comes to producing vaccines and pharmaceuticals, that expertise over the decades in Nigeria, unfortunately, has decayed a lot.

So there’s only a very, very limited number of partner organisations that are actually, for now, up to that job. So it will also come with some training, and as I understand, that is exactly what is in the books for the next years for Nigeria. We have Nigerians trained in Belgium with that company and other partner organisations, in order to break the ground and make preparations for local vaccine production here.

However, this is not going to be an overnight development; let’s be clear. The argument for healthcare sovereignty, although accurate, is sometimes a little oversold. It is no doubt a good thing to have. But wanting it to happen and actually having it happen will require time, effort, and resources. So Belgium can come in because these companies are ready, and they realise the importance and the size of the Nigerian market. But this is going to be baby steps at first, and then bigger steps, and then hopefully giant steps afterwards. But definitely, there are lots of interesting developments happening.

We hope also to say a little more about all of this in September, when we will organise a pharmaceuticals event involving several Belgian startups and Belgian companies here in Nigeria in partnership with PVAC and with the European Union. But as I often tell Nigerians and Belgians alike, Belgian-Nigerian relations in 2025 are going to be about farms and pharma.

PT: You mentioned that Belgian-Nigerian relations will increasingly focus on agriculture this year and possibly beyond. Could you elaborate on the specific goals or priorities set for this new trade relationship?

Mr Leenknegt: In terms of existing investments from Belgium and Nigeria, we have already quite a wide range. I mean, it’s not always humongous companies. Still, we do have a bit of everything, from shrimp fishing to producing roofing materials to palm oil plantation groups mainly based in Edo, which was taken over by a Nigerian company, but still with a bit of a Belgian component nowadays. So there are lots of very different things happening. We also had maritime business with dredgers, preparing all kinds of things, both in the oil and gas and in other sectors, including eco-Atlantic.

But when it comes to agriculture, we have also had a number of companies that have had business and investments in Nigeria that made them sufficiently confident to focus on this sector. Last year, for instance, eight Belgian companies organised a mini trade mission in Nigeria without any public sector support. So they were basically self-organised and talking to their business partners here in Nigeria, and also shifting business partners among themselves. So we already have these eight companies that were either offering innovative solutions in siloing, storage, cold chain management in the case of non-constant power supply, or food waste to energy solutions and independent grids.

Also, Belgian importers are looking into how to start processing some imports locally, particularly those subject to an import ban, to allow them to be eligible to work in the Nigerian market.

PT: Bilateral trade agreements between Nigeria and Belgium have long operated without any enforceable clauses on local value addition. What specific economic and political factors may be responsible for this?

Mr Leenknegt: I find this to be a bit of a curious question. Value addition does not come when it comes to trade. Basically, if you want to buy a product from abroad, you expect that product to be produced abroad.

I would expect value addition to come in for sectors such as government procurement, where you open your procurement market and then require the incoming market operator to purchase some goods in their project locally. But I don’t think that we are very big into these procurement markets except for a few very big projects, such as Eko Atlantic, where the local content and local buy-in and local employment are going to be a very big factor.

When it comes to trade, I honestly don’t see how local content requirements can come in at first glance.

PT: The Port of Antwerp processes over 6 million tonnes of freight from Nigeria annually, making Nigeria its largest West African trading partner. Does Belgium see itself as playing a role in supporting the modernisation of Nigerian ports?

Mr Leenknegt: Yes, indeed. Let’s also be candid, when it comes to those trade volumes, it’s only natural that the country with the most inhabitants in West Africa is also the destination for most of the value of these goods from the Port of Antwerp. But when it comes to the Port of Antwerp, more as an active actor in the maritime sector in Nigeria than just a comrade of trade, there’s definitely scope for much more growth. Especially if you look at neighbouring countries where those trade volumes are much smaller. The Port of Antwerp is actually a bigger player for now, running the Port of Cotonou. They are also present in the Port of Conakry.

There are a number of other places where the Port of Antwerp has been more involved so far. This being said, the Port of Antwerp has a representative in Lagos and is always on the lookout for possibilities in order to develop ports.

I must immediately also add that it’s not only about ocean ports or deep-sea ports. The Port of Antwerp also has quite a bit of expertise in terms of hinterland development. From that perspective, inland ports and riverine ports are as important for Antwerp from a developmental perspective in Nigeria and elsewhere than deep sea ports are. That’s why Antwerp has been present in the Port of Onitsha for a while. That’s why they’re now also going to be part of a consortium that looks into making the Niger River navigable and profitable in terms of waterways trade and development. All the way from Lagos to Port Harcourt to Lokoja. So those are definitely things that are being looked into.

Antwerp does also offer training programmes and management modules, and all of that. It is not only the big ports in Lagos that should benefit from this expertise, because the last time I saw an expression of interest from a Nigerian state for such training was from the South-South and not from the South-west.

PT: In April, you stated that Nigeria needed to commit to improving its global image. From your understanding, what are the misconceptions of Nigeria that exist among the Belgian public?

Mr Leenknegt: The brand image for Nigeria is still largely to be made, except for a few fields. For instance, some younger Belgians working in Nigeria would always draw my attention to the fact that nowadays in clubs in Brussels, people are dancing and singing in pidgin English.

That’s quite a development. We think we go to the country and discover a new scene, but basically, it’s already among us in a big way. Davido, the artist, says he wants to buy Belgium, and he’s more than welcome to do so. Funny.

But yes, apart from that, a case where Nigeria sometimes overrates its fame in the world is when it comes to its food. I mean, there are hardly any Nigerian restaurants to be found anywhere in Europe that I know of, perhaps a little bit in the UK. I stand to be corrected on that one. But, I mean, Nigerian food is by no means either popular or even remotely famous anywhere in Europe. So that’s perhaps a misconception, but definitely, I’d say, a misperception from the Nigerian side on what is renowned from Nigeria abroad. Now, of course, when it comes to literature, Nigeria is an established brand by far.

Cinema still has to make its way, although people start realising, you know, that Lagos is quite a booming place from that perspective.

Other than that, you know, images come with their ups and downs. Of course, in terms of the internet, Nigeria definitely has to shed a bit of a bad image.

PT: As a follow-up question to your statement, I’d like to ask you, from your point of view, what do you think is the perception of Nigeria in the diplomatic world?

Mr Leenknegt: Nigerian diplomats abroad are in the best position to answer these questions. If anything, I can only speak on the perception of Belgian diplomacy in the world. My job is to correct it every day, and that’s quite a different kind of thing.

But to use general statements or general images that come to mind, it is that Nigeria is or should be the powerhouse of West Africa, and therefore is expected sometimes to represent the region or take responsibility due to its demographic and economic size. It’s no longer the biggest economy in Africa, but it’s still the biggest economy in West Africa.

We all know and remember from the decades past that Nigeria and former Nigerian heads of state have played important, recognised, sizable roles in mediation processes elsewhere in Africa.

That role has perhaps reduced a little bit over the last few years, but there’s no reason why it couldn’t be revived or why it shouldn’t be among us.

PT: Language and colonial history shape European relations with Africa. So, how does Belgium approach cultural relations with Nigeria as a non-Francophone country?

Mr Leenknegt: Colonial history is one thing. But it is important to realise that African countries have now spent almost as long as the colonial period actually lasted. That, I think, is a very important perspective to keep in mind. I was born 15 years after most African countries became independent, so that’s my perspective.

Language influences our relations with countries in Africa, as well as European countries, but only to some extent. And that even goes to the most French of all French-speaking countries, namely France itself, which seems to be thriving very well also economically and business-like in Anglophone countries in Africa. Sometimes, even easier than in traditionally French-speaking countries. Now, for Belgium, that is not so different.

For instance, our trade volumes with Nigeria are 10 or 12 times what they are with our former colony, DRC, and also many times bigger than with South Africa, where we also, by the way, have a bit of linguistic affinity because Afrikaans and the Dutch that is spoken by a majority of Belgians is also very related.

So language explains only so much, and sometimes it’s also good to have a bit of a greenfield orientation to international relations. You have so many people-to-people ties in countries that speak your language or that you have a shared history with, as we call it. But I mean, it comes with assets, but also with burdens of the past, and sometimes it’s also good to be in a place where you don’t carry those burdens and where you can start something new. Now, when it comes to cultural diplomacy, you could assume that language could be a stumbling block. But I don’t feel that so much when it comes to Nigeria.

Our cultural diplomacy events of the last few years have focused mostly on fashion, photography, and visual arts, where none of these stumbling blocks exist. Even when it comes to literature, nowadays, and especially with Nigerian diaspora being so prolific, we also end up having a Nigerian author who settled in Belgium and married in Belgium and lived there for a few decades, and who ended up writing novels in both Dutch and English, and who considers both these versions as actually hers and not just as a translation from one to the other.

See, so all of this is nowadays also possible, and of course, as an embassy, you want to seize those occasions with both hands. To give you an example or to illustrate to what extent we have embraced that author, that novel writer, is that she nowadays lives in Atlanta, and there she received a decoration from our consul general in Atlanta as a notable individual in the Belgian community in the United States.

So you see, nowadays, these things tend to become a bit more fluid in a globalised world. So it’s, I think, easier than ever. Musicians, it’s another example. We had a Nigerian musician living in Belgium, playing at our King’s Day event here in Nigeria.

I mean, of course, he sings in English, but then most of the Belgians who settle in Nigeria will have to be fluent English speakers anyhow.

There is no representation of the Belgian linguistic communities in Nigeria. They don’t have their own offices. They don’t run their programmes. It’s basically the embassy that has to run it. But don’t forget Belgium is also only partly a French-speaking country. Dutch speakers are a majority. It’s perhaps also not much of a coincidence that most of the, let’s say, 6,000, 7,000 Nigerians in Belgium end up clustering in the Antwerp area and in the Dutch-speaking parts of the country, where usually English is spoken a bit more frequently and better than in the French-speaking parts of the country.

So there’s always scope for exchange, and definitely when it comes to our cultural agenda here, there is never a dull moment.

PT: As a Belgian living in Nigeria, what do you miss about your home country and also, how would you like to compare Nigeria and Belgium?

Mr Leenknegt: When it comes to what I miss most, without having to think too long, I’ll say biking and walking in the streets. There are different reasons why that is less possible here. There’s the security factor here that I don’t have to face in my own country. There’s also, of course, a weather factor.

You know, sometimes it’s just too hot for it, but I dread being driven around in armoured and air-conditioned cars. And just for health, generally speaking.

I find it a big plus if I don’t have to go to gyms or do fitness exercises to remain fit, and that I can just combine transport from home to work with staying fit. So, that’s basically one of the things I miss most.

I’d say also what I miss a lot from Belgium would be the density of museums, of cultural institutions, of the cultural calendars. I mean, of course, you have it in Nigeria as well, but for a country of only 11 million inhabitants in Belgium, these sectors are very, very developed and very flourishing.

But, of course, I chose this life, and what I get in return is, of course, exposure to so many cultures here. One thing that struck me particularly about Nigeria, more than the literature or the exotic food, would be the sheer variety and traditional dress. Wherever you go, it’s different. In the north-east, north-west, the south-south, and south-west. It’s very colourful, and the variation is enormous.

PT: Tell us about your personal experience.

Mr Leenknegt: I tried many things: food, music and all that. For food, the only thing I can really keep up with is egusi, because that’s the only thing that is not too hot for my palate. I lived in Afghanistan before, where they also have Indian cuisine, which is supposed to be challenging for the European palate. But Nigeria is quite a different story.

PT: On a final note, how would you compare your perception of Nigeria before you came to the country and your perception of it now?

Mr Leenknegt: Yes, that’s a good question. I had Nigerian friends for a long time before coming here. And even during my first diplomatic posting in Afghanistan, a good friend of mine was a Nigerian working with the Office of the Attorney General there.

He’s still a very good friend, and I’m still very happy to run into him whenever he’s in the country, because he also spends much time in the UK.

I also had colleagues, interns at UN organisations, even before I properly started my career, who were Nigerians from New York or actually from Nigeria itself. So there was no lack of exposure, I must say.

And there was relatively easy contact, and I’d say a meeting of the mind with many Nigerians beforehand. So from that point, there weren’t too many surprises.

It was also not my first stay in sub-Saharan Africa. I spent four years as a deputy ambassador in Kenya, which comes with a different kind of popular mood, although less abrasive, less outgoing than in Nigeria.

So yes, all in all, not too many surprises. But what I will say is this, Nigeria is not in the picture as a country for tourism in our country. So basically, what the place looks like, most Belgians have absolutely no clue about.

On top of that, if you just go and browse the internet and you want to see a picture of Abuja, what you will find is the entrance gate, the white unity gate there.

But honestly, I mean, the big draw to Abuja for me are these volcanic hills everywhere. They are just sprouting up in the landscape. Nobody in Europe even knows that that exists.

And there’s other natural features. I was in Taraba recently. It’s a wonderful place in terms of nature.

Nobody in Europe’s ever heard of Taraba. The only thing that comes close is a friend of mine who just looked up the altitude levels on a map and says, that area there, neighbouring Cameroon, must be very beautiful because of the kind of the hills, the drawings of the hills. But nobody in Europe has a clue. But we all hope this is bound to change.