Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates have met to review bilateral trade, investment and economic cooperation, connectivity, emerging technologies as well as people-to-people relations as trade volume between both countries hit $5 billion in 2025.
The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, Thursday by stated that this development followed a meeting on Wednesday by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, with Salem Saeed Alshamsi, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Nigeria in Abuja.
The UAE Ambassador reaffirmed the Embassy’s readiness to work closely with the Ministry in advancing shared interests.
He highlighted the significant growth in bilateral trade, which increased from approximately US$3 billion to US$4.3 billion in 2024 and about US$5 billion in 2025, and expressed optimism that stronger political relations would continue to support increased trade and investment.
Discussions also focused on the UAE-Nigeria Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), even as the Ambassador noted that the UAE had ratified the agreement and expressed hope that its completion on Nigeria’s side would further expand bilateral trade and investment. He also highlighted the proposed commencement of Emirates Airline operations in Abuja and ongoing consultations with relevant Nigerian authorities to strengthen aviation connectivity between the two countries.
