Nigeri and United Arab Emirates are moving to strengthen bilateral cooperation, with both countries working towards establishing a joint commission to deepen collaboration across several sectors.

The development was disclosed by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, following her meeting with the UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

In a post on her X page, Ojukwu said:

“NIGERIA🇳🇬- UAE 🇦🇪

Pleased to meet H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates in New York on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81).

Nigeria and the UAE share exceptionally warm bilateral relations with trade volumes at approximately 5 billion dollars.

High -level diplomacy between Nigerian President H.E President Bola Ahmed Tinubu , UAE President H.E Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and UAE’s Ambassador to Nigeria, H E Salem Mohammed Al Shamsi has smoothed over past visa and aviation friction.

Moving forward, our two governments are actively working to establish a joint commission to institutionalize cooperation across diverse sectors, to track the ratification and implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and to explore emerging partnerships in Artificial Intelligence (AI), security and defence, fintech as well as banking.

Earlier this year, H.E Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, Minister of State of the UAE met with His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in Abuja during an official visit to Nigeria to solidify economic, as well as people-to-people ties.”

The proposed commission is expected to provide a framework for both countries to institutionalise cooperation and advance agreements covering trade, investment, technology, security and other areas of mutual interest.