Nigeria and the UAE agreed a deal aimed at deepening bilateral trade ties and unlocking investment opportunities across sectors including energy, aviation, and agriculture.
The UAE will remove tariffs on more than 7,000 products, Nigeria’s trade minister said, while Abuja will eliminate tariffs on 6,000 products over a five-year period.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has pushed to attract investment into Nigeria from Western powers but also from partners in Asia and the Middle East.
Growing UAE interest in Africa saw Emirati companies back projects worth about $110 billion on the continent between 2019 and 2023, and the UAE pledged $1 billion to invest in AI infrastructure in Africa last year.
Emirates Airlines, one of the UAE’s two flag carriers, resumed flights to Lagos in late 2024 after years of tensions tied to Nigeria’s foreign exchange shortage that impeded the company’s ability to repatriate profits.