KEY POINTS

• Nigeria and the UAE signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement to deepen trade and investment ties.
• The deal liberalises trade in over 7,000 products, with many tariffs removed immediately.
• Officials say the pact boosts confidence for investors and expands access for Nigerian exporters.

Officials say that the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates,  UAE, will change trade between the two countries and help Nigeria become more connected to global markets.

The leaders of both countries were there when the agreement was signed on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi.

It wants to make trade in goods and services more free, lower tariffs on thousands of products, and give businesses and professionals on both sides more access to markets.

Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, confirmed the news in a post on X. She called the agreement a big step forward in the country’s changing trade strategy.

What the agreement covers

The ministry’s terms say that Nigeria will open up 6,243 products. There will be no more tariffs on 3,949 items, which is 63.3 percent of the total. Over the next five years, duties on the other 2,294 products, or 36.7 percent, will be slowly removed.

There will be no more tariffs on 2,805 of the 7,315 products covered by the agreement on the UAE side. That is about 38.3 percent of all the items in the deal.

The deal also opens up more service opportunities, making it easier for Nigerian professionals and businesses to enter the UAE market and giving investors clearer rules.

President Bola Tinubu said that the deal would bring real benefits to Nigerians, especially exporters and manufacturers.

“This deal lets thousands of Nigerian goods into the UAE without paying taxes, gives our exporters and service providers more chances, and makes UAE investors feel good about Nigeria’s productive economy,” he said.

Officials from the government said that the deal sends a strong message to investors around the world that Nigeria is open to trade and change.