Dubai International Chamber has launched a new office in Africa's biggest city Lagos to improve trade between the emirate and Nigeria.    

This is its seventh office on the African continent, Dubai International Chamber, said in a statement on the Government of Dubai website.  

The new office was opened during the ‘Doing Business with Nigeria’ forum organised as part of the chamber’s ‘New Horizons’ trade mission to West Africa, it said.    

"The Nigerian market is one of the largest in Africa and enables Dubai-based traders to access a wide range of markets across Central and Western Africa," Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President and CEO of Dubai Chambers, said.     

The staff at the office will assist Nigerian companies to enter the Dubai market and also guide Dubai-based businesses that plan to invest in Africa’s largest economy.    

Foreign Direct Investment from Dubai to Nigeria amounted to $ 234.30 million (AED 862.2 million) between January 2018 and July 2023, the chamber said.     

The food and beverage, real estate, financial services, software, IT services were among the key sectors targeted for investment during that period.    

Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu has been courting investors, including during visits to the UAE and Saudi Arabia this year, to take advantage of the elimination of foreign exchange controls. 

The president took the measure when he started his term in May saying foreign capital can now go in and out of Nigeria freely.

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com )