The Federal Government has said Nigeria’s strategic partnership with the European Union (EU) now supports more than €35 billion in annual trade, about €26 billion in European foreign direct investment (FDI) and has created over 130,000 direct jobs across the country.

Vice President Kashim Shettima, disclosed this at the 10th Nigeria–EU Business Forum, where both sides reaffirmed their commitment to expanding investment, trade and private sector collaboration under their recently strengthened Strategic Partnership.

Represented by the Director-General of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), Princess Zahra Mustapha Audu, the Vice President described the Nigeria-EU relationship as “a strategic economic alliance” that has grown beyond diplomacy into a broad-based economic partnership.

According to him, the partnership has become increasingly economic, strategic, technological and people-centred, with the Business Forum evolving into a platform that translates policy discussions into concrete investments and development outcomes.

“The Nigeria-European Union Business Forum has evolved beyond a dialogue platform. It has become an important vehicle for translating shared aspirations into investments, commercial partnerships, policy reforms and development outcomes,” he said.

The Vice President added that Nigeria’s ongoing economic reforms are improving macroeconomic stability, boosting investor confidence and positioning the country as a preferred investment destination.

He said the true measure of the partnership’s success would not merely be the number of agreements signed, but the infrastructure delivered, industries developed and technologies deployed.

Speaking, the Ambassador of the European Union to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, said the forum marked the first major engagement since Nigeria and the EU elevated their relationship to a strengthened Strategic Partnership during the March 2026 EU-Nigeria Ministerial Meeting.

He noted that the EU currently accounts for 31 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign trade and remains the country’s largest source of foreign direct investment.

Mignot said cooperation is expanding through the EU’s Global Gateway strategy, increased activities by the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, stronger Team Europe coordination, and a structured Nigeria-EU trade and investment dialogue.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, said the forum reflected growing confidence in Nigeria’s economic reform programme and reaffirmed government’s commitment to improving the investment climate through sustained engagement with the private sector.

“Our work here as government is simple: to listen, to partner and to further our collaborative interventions,” she said.

She said that recommendations from the business community would help shape policies aimed at enhancing Nigeria’s competitiveness and attracting more investment.

Representing the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, the Minister of State for Budget and Economic Planning, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, said Nigeria’s economic transformation was being driven by deliberate reforms, including public financial management and tax reforms, as well as stronger fiscal coordination.

She said the reforms were designed to channel resources into priority sectors capable of creating jobs, attracting private investment and delivering critical infrastructure.

Held under the theme, “Enhancing Sustainable Investment Together,” the forum brought together policymakers, investors, development finance institutions and business leaders from Nigeria and Europe to deepen cooperation in renewable energy, digital infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, sustainable transport and trade.