THUR AUG 20 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates have reaffirmed plans to deepen economic and diplomatic ties, with bilateral trade rising to about $5 billion in 2025 as both countries seek to expand investment, technology and business links.
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, met the UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, Salem Saeed Alshamsi, in Abuja on Wednesday to discuss ways of strengthening the relations between the two countries.
The talks, according to a release today by the Ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, covered trade and investment, economic cooperation, connectivity, emerging technologies and people-to-people relations.
The UAE ambassador said trade between the two countries had increased from about $3bn to $4.3 billion in 2024 and approximately $5 billion in 2025.
He expressed optimism that stronger political relations would help drive further growth in commerce and investment.
A major focus of the meeting was the Nigeria-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which has been ratified by the UAE but is still awaiting completion of the necessary processes on the Nigerian side.
The proposed CEPA could become an important framework for that relationship if Nigeria completes the remaining domestic processes.
“But the value of the agreement will ultimately depend on how quickly both sides translate it into lower barriers to trade, greater investment and stronger business-to-business links,” a diplomacy analyst in Lagos said.
Nigeria said it remained committed to concluding the process and called for an early meeting of the Nigeria-UAE Joint Commission to resolve outstanding issues and identify new areas of cooperation.
The renewed engagement comes as Nigeria seeks to use economic diplomacy to attract investment, broaden its export markets and reduce its reliance on oil.
Both governments also identified artificial intelligence, digital technology and other emerging technologies as areas with scope for cooperation.
Nigeria also expressed interest in skills development, knowledge transfer and capacity building for young Nigerians.
Technology is emerging as another potential pillar of the relationship.
Aviation connectivity featured prominently in the discussions, with the UAE side highlighting the proposed commencement of Emirates Airline operations in Abuja.
Progress on visa-related issues was also welcomed, with both sides linking easier movement between the countries to greater opportunities in business, investment and tourism.
Nigeria offers one of Africa’s largest consumer markets and significant opportunities in infrastructure, energy, financial services and technology.
For Nigeria, deeper access to UAE capital, expertise and markets could support efforts to diversify the economy and strengthen non-oil exports.
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