Nigeria is seeking to deepen economic and diplomatic cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Venezuela following a series of bilateral meetings held on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, disclosed this on Tuesday after separate meetings with her counterparts from the three countries.
At the meeting with UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Odumegwu-Ojukwu said both countries were working towards establishing a joint commission to institutionalise cooperation across several sectors.
She said Nigeria and the UAE were also working on the ratification and implementation of their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, while exploring new areas of cooperation in artificial intelligence, security and defence, fintech and banking.
Non-oil trade between Nigeria and the UAE reached about $5bn in 2025, according to UAE government figures. The figure represented an increase from $4.3bn recorded in 2024.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu said recent high-level engagements between President Bola Tinubu, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, Salem Mohammed Al Shamsi, had helped address previous visa and aviation-related concerns.
She also held talks with Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, focusing on economic cooperation, investment protection and technical education.
The minister said Singaporean investments in Nigeria had exceeded $4bn, with investments spanning agribusiness, oil and gas, logistics, infrastructure and operations in the Lagos Free Trade Zone.
Nigeria and Singapore have maintained expanding economic relations, while Singapore’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Balakrishnan’s participation in the 81st UN General Assembly and his scheduled bilateral engagements in New York.
In a separate engagement, Odumegwu-Ojukwu met Venezuela’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Felix Ramon Plasencia Gonzalez.
The discussions focused on the longstanding diplomatic relationship between both countries and cooperation in areas including energy, international organisations and multilateral diplomacy.
The Foreign Ministry has listed the three meetings among the minister’s bilateral engagements during the UNGA week.
The engagements form part of Nigeria’s broader diplomatic activities at the 81st UN General Assembly, where Vice President Kashim Shettima is leading the Nigerian delegation and representing President Tinubu.
