Nigeria–UAE Deal Will Give Exporters Gateway To Global Markets

Nigeria and the UAE signed the trade agreement to support the drive for green investment, higher non-oil exports and long-term economic growth.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, says Nigeria’s trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will provide local exporters with a strategic hub to access global markets, particularly across the Gulf and beyond.

Oduwole stated this on Thursday while speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today, following the signing of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Nigeria and the UAE.

According to the minister, the agreement allows over 7,000 Nigerian product lines to enter the UAE market duty-free.

“Over 7,000 product lines, ranging from pharmaceuticals and chemicals to agricultural produce, will be allowed into the UAE market duty-free. We really want Nigerian businesses to take advantage of that,” she said.

She explained that the UAE was deliberately chosen as a strategic trade partner because of its global commercial importance and connectivity.

“We negotiated this deal to enable Nigerian exporters to have a hub into the rest of the world, with access to the Gulf. The UAE is about the tenth largest trading nation in the world, so this is a gateway, a hub that connects East to West and links into the global market,” Oduwole said.

The minister added that the agreement also eases business mobility for Nigerians, allowing entrepreneurs to establish a physical presence in the UAE.

“The UAE is one of the melting points of the world. Nigerian businesses will be able to open offices and subsidiaries, while business owners can stay in the UAE for up to 90 days within a 12-month period,” she noted.

She said Nigeria would deepen its export footprint in sectors where it is competitive, using the UAE both as a destination market and a launchpad to other regions.

“We will be able to have our businesses in areas where they are competitive. These are the areas where Nigeria will deepen access into the UAE itself and then export our products from the UAE to the rest of the world,” she said.

Oduwole also said the agreement would attract UAE investment into Nigeria, particularly in infrastructure and industrial development.

“We want investment in infrastructure and in many areas where we have gaps. UAE capital will come into these areas, of course they will make good money, but more than that, when they are looking for a hub to access the rest of Africa, they will base those investments in Nigeria and use Nigeria as a hub to export to the rest of Africa,” she said.

She added that Nigeria would also import machinery and equipment required to support industrialisation.

The minister further disclosed that Nigerian entrepreneurs can begin exporting immediately under the agreement, while other provisions will be phased in over a three- to five-year period.

Trump Praises Venezuela’s Machado For ‘Wonderful’ Nobel Prize Gesture
Trump had campaigned hard to win last year’s Nobel Peace Prize for what he says are his efforts to stop eight wars.

US President Donald Trump has heaped praise on Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado for presenting him with “her Nobel Peace Prize” after they met at the White House.

READ ALSO: Venezuelans Regain Access To X After Yearlong Block

“She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, adding that Machado presenting him with the medal was “such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect.”

The Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Thursday that she “presented” her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump, in a bid to win over the US president who had sidelined her since overthrowing Nicolas Maduro.

Her “wonderful gesture of mutual respect,” as Trump called it Thursday, comes after the Republican said the award should have gone to him instead — and after he refused to back Machado following the January 3 US military operation to capture Maduro.

“He deserves it, and it was a very emotional moment,” Machado later told broadcaster Fox News in an interview.

Despite the gesture, Trump has backed Maduro’s vice president Delcy Rodriguez over Machado — so long as she toes Washington’s line, particularly on access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.

“I presented the president of the United States the medal of the Nobel Peace Prize,” Machado told reporters outside the US Capitol, where she met with lawmakers after having lunch with Trump at the White House.

Machado, 58, said it was “recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom.”

It was not immediately clear if Trump actually kept the award following the closed-door meeting.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee says its prizes cannot be transferred.