Nigeria-UAE Non-oil Trade Surges to $4.3bn
Trade relations between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates rose to a record $4.3bn for non-oil commodities in 2024
In a statement on Monday, the UAE Consul-General in Lagos, Salem Al Jaberi, stated this during a visit by Master’s degree students from the Department of Diplomacy and Strategic Studies at the University of Lagos, who were on a visit as part of their practical exposure in learning.
Speaking during the visit, Al Jaberi described Africa as a unique hub for business investments, stressing that the UAE in 2024 had the second-highest foreign direct investment ratings on the continent of Africa.
He noted that the Consulate General of the UAE in Lagos was the first in Africa, stressing that Nigeria is one of the Emirates’ most strategic partners in the region, “even as Lagos serves as the economic capital.”
“The trade relations between the UAE and Nigeria reached $4.3bn for non-oil commodities in 2024.
However, the numbers could be much higher with better partnerships across the board,” the Consul General said.
Al Jaberi maintained that the numbers could be much higher, adding that there is a need for more partnerships. “You would observe that the UAE was among the top 5 trading partners in Nigeria in the second quarter of 2025. What we do majorly is to facilitate market access for UAE investments in Nigeria via business-to-business, business-to-government, government-to-government, among others,” Al Jaberi posited.
According to him, the UAE has signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with 11 countries, including Kenya and India, even as he expressed optimism that a similar treaty would be reached with Nigeria to further simplify trade across frontiers.
Earlier, an Associate Professor of Diplomacy and Strategic Studies, UNILAG, Henry Ogunjewo, stated that the visit provided a rare opportunity to acquaint students with the realities and activities involving bilateral relations, theories, and principles learnt in the classroom.
“We teach about economic relations and diverse kinds of relations at the Department of Diplomacy and Strategic Studies at UNILAG. However, this has been a beautiful outing and these Master’s Degree students are ready to explore partnerships with the UAE as they bid to become first-class diplomats,” Ogunjewo said.
He emphasised that the UAE has been too conservative on the laudable work that it is doing in Africa, and in Nigeria, underscoring the need for the public to know about the level of economic opportunities as well as the cultural and humanitarian aid.
“I believe that a stronger relationship between the Consulate and our students could provide a platform to better understand the UAE’s consulate activities in a symbiotic relationship,” he noted.
Speaking on behalf of the students, Chizoba Benson, thanked the UAE Consulate for the opportunity to engage and expressed optimism that more privileges will be extended to partners via research and other diplomatic relations.