By Zainab Bakare
Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates UAE, have agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, aviation, technology and people-to-people relations.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, disclosed this when the UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, Salem Saeed Alshamsi, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.
According to a statement by the spokesperson Kimiebi Ebienfa, Enikanolaiye expressed optimism that stronger political relations would drive further growth in trade and investment.
Both sides also discussed the UAE-Nigeria Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, CEPA.
Enikanolaiye reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to concluding the necessary procedures and called for an early meeting of the Nigeria-UAE Joint Commission to resolve outstanding issues and identify new areas of cooperation.
The UAE envoy noted that bilateral trade between both countries rose from about three billion dollars in 2023 to 4.3 billion dollars in 2024 and approximately five billion dollars in 2025.
Alshamsi said the UAE had ratified the agreement and urged Nigeria to complete its own processes to enable implementation.
On the proposed commencement of Emirates Airline operations in Abuja, the UAE ambassador revealed that consultations were ongoing with relevant Nigerian authorities.
Both countries identified artificial intelligence and digital technology as potential areas of cooperation, with Nigeria seeking greater knowledge transfer, skills development and capacity building for young Nigerians.
The two sides also welcomed progress in addressing previous visa challenges, which they said would support greater movement for business, investment and tourism.
They reaffirmed their commitment to closer political and economic engagement to deliver greater benefits to citizens of both countries
