Prime Highlights :
- The UAE reaffirmed its long-term economic commitment to Nigeria, backed by growing trade and investment ties.
- UAE–Nigeria non-oil trade surged to nearly $4.9 billion in 2025, highlighting stronger economic cooperation.
Key Facts :
- The partnership is expanding across infrastructure, technology, logistics, and energy sectors.
- The UAE has pledged $1 billion to support AI and digital development projects across Africa.
Background :
The United Arab Emirates says its long term economic commitment to Nigeria has not wavered, pointing instead to rising trade volumes, deeper investment activity and fresh opportunities opening up in technology and infrastructure.
UAE Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Saeed Bin Mubarak Al Hajeri, said the relationship was increasingly shaped by long term priorities rather than short term developments, noting that Nigeria had grown into an important partner within the UAE’s wider engagement across Africa.
He described the partnership as defined by resilience and a shared vision for growth, with significant room to deepen cooperation in areas such as infrastructure, logistics and energy.
That outlook finds support in expanding trade figures. Non oil trade between the two countries climbed from roughly $1.3 billion in 2020 to nearly $4.9 billion in 2025, a jump Al Hajeri linked to broader diversification across the relationship.
He traced this consistency to the UAE’s globally connected economy and one of the world’s most competitive business environments, which he said allowed both sides to navigate disruptions while protecting investments.
Years of investment in infrastructure, logistics and supply chain resilience, he added, had kept trade corridors stable across West Africa. Looking ahead, Al Hajeri said engagement with Nigeria would increasingly centre on investment, innovation and economic transformation rather than trade alone.
He pointed to the UAE’s broader footprint across Africa, where partnerships now span more than 50 countries and cover sectors including sustainable energy, food security, infrastructure, education, digital transformation, artificial intelligence and healthcare.
He highlighted the UAE’s expanding Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement programme, now covering ten African economies and designed to strengthen investment and commercial links.
Alongside this, the UAE has committed $1 billion to its AI for Development in Africa initiative, launched at the G20 Summit in South Africa, aimed at strengthening digital ecosystems and accelerating sustainable growth across the continent.
