Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have moved to deepen their bilateral relations as trade between both countries rose to approximately $5 billion in 2025.
The development followed a meeting in Abuja between Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, and the UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, Salem Saeed Alshamsi, where both sides reviewed trade and investment, economic cooperation, aviation connectivity, emerging technologies and people-to-people relations.
According to a statement issued on Thursday by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, the UAE ambassador reaffirmed the embassy’s readiness to work with the ministry to advance shared interests between both countries.
Alshamsi highlighted the steady growth in bilateral trade, which increased from about $3 billion to $4.3 billion in 2024 and reached approximately $5 billion in 2025. He expressed optimism that stronger political relations would further drive trade and investment between Nigeria and the UAE.
A major focus of the meeting was the UAE-Nigeria Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Alshamsi said the UAE had ratified the agreement and expressed hope that Nigeria would complete its own processes to facilitate implementation and expand bilateral trade and investment.
The two countries also discussed the proposed commencement of Emirates Airline operations in Abuja, with consultations ongoing 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 while promoting manufacturing, services, technology and fintech. He also 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. Nigeria expressed interest in partnerships focused on knowledge transfer, skills development and capacity building, particularly for young Nigerians.
The Nigerian government 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 support business, investment, tourism and other exchanges.
Nigeria and the UAE expressed confidence that sustained political engagement, stronger economic cooperation and closer institutional collaboration would deepen bilateral relations and create greater opportunities for citizens of both countries.
