By Hussien Elkabany and Tarek Chouiref
ISTANBUL (AA) – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Nigeria signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement on Tuesday, opening a new chapter in trade and investment relations between the two countries.
The agreement was signed in Abu Dhabi in the presence of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his Nigerian counterpart, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, according to the state news agency WAM.
Sheikh Mohamed described the deal as a major milestone in the development of bilateral relations, saying it reflects the two countries’ shared commitment to strengthening economic cooperation and expanding investment ties.
Tinubu said the partnership would create fresh opportunities for deeper trade and commercial engagement, stressing its importance for both economies.
The agreement aims to lower tariffs, remove trade barriers and stimulate cross-border trade and investment, while broadening cooperation in strategic sectors such as technology, agriculture, energy and precious metals, WAM said.
Non-oil trade between the UAE and Nigeria reached $4.3 billion in 2024, marking a 55.3% increase compared to the previous year. Trade continued to expand in 2025, with non-oil exchanges totaling $3.1 billion in the first nine months of the year.
The deal also aligns with the UAE’s wider foreign trade strategy under its Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPA) program, launched in September 2021 to diversify trade partnerships and accelerate economic growth.
The program aims to raise the country’s non-oil foreign trade to 4 trillion dirhams ($1.1 trillion) by 2031.
In 2024, the program helped drive non-oil trade to a record $810 billion, marking annual growth of 14%. To date, the UAE has signed 32 CEPA agreements, 14 of which have already entered into force.