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Nigeria-UAE Non-Oil Trade Hits $4.3 Billion, Strengthening Strategic Partnership

Prime Highlights:

  • Non-oil trade between Nigeria and the UAE reached $4.3 billion in 2024, marking a record high.
  • The UAE identified Nigeria as one of its most strategic partners in Africa, with Lagos serving as a key economic hub.

Key Facts:

  • The UAE ranked among Nigeria’s top five trading partners in Q2 2025.
  • In 2023, the UAE exported more to Nigeria than Nigeria exported to the UAE, showing strong two-way trade flows.

Key Background:

Trade between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) grew strongly, with non-oil goods reaching $4.3 billion in 2024. The UAE Consul-General in Lagos, Salem Al Jaberi, disclosed this during an engagement with Master’s degree students from the Department of Diplomacy and Strategic Studies at the University of Lagos.

Al Jaberi described Africa as a unique hub for business investment, stressing that the UAE ranked second in terms of foreign direct investment ratings across the continent in 2024. He highlighted Nigeria as one of the Emirates’ most strategic partners, noting that Lagos serves as the nation’s economic capital.

Al Jaberi said trade in non-oil goods between the UAE and Nigeria hit $4.3 billion in 2024, but noted the figures could grow further with stronger partnerships. He added that the UAE was one of Nigeria’s top five trading partners in the second quarter of 2025, showing the potential for stronger business and government partnerships.

The UAE, he added, has already signed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements with 11 countries, including Kenya and India. A similar agreement with Nigeria, he said, would further simplify cross-border trade and expand opportunities for both nations.

The visit also gave UNILAG diplomacy students a chance to learn beyond classroom theories. Associate Professor Henry Ogunjewo said such sessions provide practical experience and noted that the UAE’s efforts in Africa, especially Nigeria, are not well known. He called for more public awareness of the country’s economic, cultural, and humanitarian contributions.

On behalf of the students, Chizoba Benson thanked the UAE Consulate for the opportunity and expressed hope for more collaboration in research and diplomacy.