The Federal Government and the European Union have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening their strategic economic partnership to boost investment, expand trade, and drive sustainable economic growth, according to a statement issued on Friday in Abuja by the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS.
The renewed commitment was announced at the 10th Nigeria–EU Business Forum, where Nigerian officials and European partners said ongoing economic reforms and closer policy coordination are creating a more attractive investment climate and laying the foundation for sustained private sector-led growth.
Speaking at the forum, the European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, said the event marked the first major milestone since Nigeria and the EU elevated their ties to a strengthened Strategic Partnership during the EU–Nigeria Ministerial Meeting in March 2026.
“Today’s Business Forum is the first concrete illustration of this common purpose,” Mignot said.
He said the European Union accounts for 31 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign trade and remains the country’s largest source of foreign direct investment.
According to him, the partnership is gathering momentum through the EU’s Global Gateway strategy, expanded operations by the European Investment Bank, the launch of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s activities in Nigeria, stronger Team Europe coordination, and the establishment of a structured Nigeria–EU trade and investment dialogue.
Delivering the keynote address on behalf of Vice President Kashim Shettima, the Director-General of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, Princess Zahra Mustapha Audu, described the Nigeria–EU relationship as “a strategic economic alliance” that goes beyond diplomatic engagement.
She said the Nigeria–EU partnership currently supports more than €35 billion in annual trade, about €26 billion in European foreign direct investment, and over 130,000 direct jobs across Nigeria.
“The Nigeria-EU 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,” she said.
Audu described the forum as a platform “where policy meets enterprise, where dialogue meets execution, and where opportunities are transformed into investments.”
She said the Federal Government’s ongoing economic reforms are enhancing macroeconomic stability, boosting investor confidence, and positioning Nigeria as a preferred destination for productive investment.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, said the forum reflected growing confidence in Nigeria’s economic reform programme and reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to creating a more competitive and investor-friendly business environment.
“Our work here as government is simple: to listen, to partner, to further our collaborative interventions,” Oduwole said.
She added that recommendations from the private sector would help shape policies designed to enhance Nigeria’s competitiveness and attract greater investment into key sectors of the economy.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Budget and Economic Planning, Doris Uzoka-Anite, who represented the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, said Nigeria’s economic transformation is being driven by deliberate reforms, fiscal discipline, and coordinated policy implementation.
“Economic transformation is not a matter left to chance. It can only be achieved as a matter of choice, discipline, deliberate strategy, and coordinated implementation,” she said.
Uzoka-Anite said reforms in public financial management, taxation, and fiscal coordination are helping to direct public resources toward priority sectors that can create jobs, attract private investment, and deliver critical infrastructure.
