Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates have reviewed their bilateral relations as trade between both countries rose to approximately $5 billion in 2025.
The review took place on Wednesday in Abuja during a meeting between Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, and the UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, Salem Saeed Alshamsi.
The discussions focused on trade and investment, economic cooperation, aviation connectivity, emerging technologies and people-to-people relations.
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.
Alshamsi reaffirmed the UAE Embassy’s readiness to work with the ministry to advance shared interests between the two countries.
He noted that bilateral trade had grown significantly, rising from about $3 billion to $4.3 billion in 2024 and approximately $5 billion in 2025.
The ambassador expressed optimism that improved political relations would further strengthen trade and investment ties between Nigeria and the UAE.
The meeting also reviewed progress on the UAE-Nigeria Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
Alshamsi said the UAE had ratified the agreement and expressed hope that Nigeria would conclude its own processes to enable its implementation and further expand bilateral trade and investment.
The two sides also discussed the proposed commencement of Emirates Airline operations in Abuja, with consultations continuing between the airline and relevant Nigerian authorities to strengthen aviation connectivity.
Enikanolaiye welcomed the growth in trade and investment, particularly in non-oil sectors, describing stronger economic relations with the UAE as consistent with Nigeria’s economic diplomacy priorities.
He stressed the need to diversify Nigeria’s export markets and promote manufacturing, services, technology and fintech.
The minister reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to completing the processes required for CEPA implementation and called for the early convening of the Nigeria-UAE Joint Commission to address outstanding issues and identify new areas of cooperation.
Artificial intelligence, digital technology and other emerging technologies were also identified as areas with significant potential for collaboration.
The Nigerian delegation expressed interest in partnerships focused on knowledge transfer, skills development and capacity building, particularly for young Nigerians.
Nigeria also welcomed increased UAE investment in priority sectors, including infrastructure, technology, energy and financial services.
The meeting further addressed people-to-people relations and progress in resolving previous visa-related challenges.
Both sides agreed that improved movement between Nigeria and the UAE would promote business, investment, tourism and other exchanges.
The two countries expressed confidence that sustained political engagement, stronger economic cooperation and closer institutional collaboration would deepen bilateral relations and deliver greater benefits to their citizens.
