The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has affirmed that the United Arab Emirates is a critical investor and trading partner to Nigeria, as non-oil trade between both countries continues to expand.
“The UAE–Nigeria relationship is increasingly defined by shared priorities: resilient trade, strategic infrastructure, and innovation-driven growth,” said Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for International Development, Sultan Al Shamsi, in emailed remarks to The PUNCH.
He added, “Non-oil trade between our countries reached $4.3bn in 2024, while approximately $3.1bn was recorded during the first nine months of 2025, reflecting strong commercial exchange and deepening private-sector engagement across logistics, agriculture, and digital services.
“Our $1bn AI for Development Initiative — designed to strengthen digital infrastructure across Africa, with Nigeria as a key partner — underscores our commitment to building long-term, future-ready cooperation. We see Nigeria not only as a major economy, but as a country positioned to lead in shaping Africa’s next phase of growth.”
Speaking with our correspondent on the development, the President of the LCCI, Leye Kupoluyi, recognised the growing commercial engagement following recent UAE–Nigeria investment deals and rising business cooperation between the two countries.
Kupoluyi explained that while several recent agreements were signed directly between the Nigerian and UAE governments, the outcomes of such deals would ultimately filter down to the private sector through institutions such as the LCCI.
He said, “The LCCI has some MOUs with the UAE, but it’s mainly between their own chamber of commerce there. We have engaged with the Dubai International Chamber of Commerce and worked with some of the Abu Dhabi organisations.”
Meanwhile, Kupoluyi clarified that the LCCI did not initiate the most recent high-profile trade agreements, as they were formal government-to-government arrangements.
He said, “While we have a lot of MOUs, the recent one appears to be between governments. I think the one with the Federal Government of Nigeria is a government-to-government agreement. The UAE had entered multiple government-to-government agreements. But we have a Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry MOU with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and we also have one with Abu Dhabi.”
On whether the LCCI plays any role in such intergovernmental deals, Kupoluyi said the chamber remains a key downstream beneficiary and facilitator of private-sector participation. He said, “Yes, eventually we do. Whatever is government-to-government will still be cascaded to us. At the end of the day, they will still get to us.”
He linked the recent spate of UAE business delegations to Nigeria to these bilateral agreements, noting a sharp rise in engagements between Nigerian businesses and UAE investors.
Kupoluyi said, “Maybe because on the back of that, you can see in recent times, there are so many delegations coming from the UAE. Recently, Abu Dhabi came, not just by us, and in that way, we’re having more engagement than before.”
The LCCI president stated that the chamber already maintains strong institutional ties with UAE-based business organisations, including the AIM Group, which is known for organising large-scale investment exhibitions and conferences globally.
He said, “We have the organisation, AIM, that always organises exhibition conferences across the world. For over 1,000 different conferences, we’re engaging with them now to cooperate with us in Nigeria. For example, the LCCI ‘Invest in Nigeria’ event that will happen on September 1 is part of it.”
Kupoluyi added that LCCI will deepen its engagements with UAE partners in 2026 through structured collaboration and increased investment-focused programmes. “By this time next year, we’ll have a very collaborative engagement with them. But the one you are talking about is government to government,” he remarked.
The LCCI chief noted that UAE companies are exploring opportunities across a wide range of sectors, reflecting Nigeria’s broad economic potential. He said, “The individual companies now come in different spheres of businesses, from agro-allied to construction. They come to look at the business opportunities that we can do together.”
Kupoluyi confirmed that emerging sectors such as energy and Artificial Intelligence are part of the growing engagement between businesses from both countries.
He said, “Yes, definitely. It comes across all sorts of businesses because it’s within the businesses among their members. Like Dubai, it comes across different groups that we have too, like our 27 groups. We have 27 different groups in the LCCI, and they cover all sectors of the economy that are relevant from time to time.”
Assessing the broader trade relationship, Kupoluyi described the UAE as a highly strategic partner for Nigeria, especially as global trade realignments create new export opportunities.
He said, “Trade agreements between Nigeria and the Middle East, Dubai, and every other country, for that matter, are an opportunity for our exporters. In Nigeria now, we should export and earn our foreign exchange, which has been great the last two years.”
Kupoluyi stressed the need for Nigeria to scale up product certification and quality standards to fully benefit from these opportunities. He said, “We are having more of our products going to different countries, which we need to scale up, especially for certification, so that more of our products will be exportable.”
He added that Nigeria’s growing attractiveness was evident in the increasing interest from other countries as well. “Morocco was in Nigeria, and I know it’s part of Africa, seeking that kind of opportunity between the two countries. I think we need it. They need us. We actually need them too for our own export, where we have a comparative advantage,” Kupoluyi concluded.
