UAE expands Africa trade push with Senegal and Gabon visits

Dubai: The UAE is stepping up trade and investment engagement with Senegal and Gabon, with Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade, holding high-level meetings in Dakar and Libreville focused on mining, renewable energy, infrastructure, food security and logistics.

The visits come after trade with both countries recorded further growth in 2025 and the first half of 2026.

UAE-Senegal non-oil trade reached about $1.3 billion in 2025, up 24.5% from a year earlier, while bilateral trade exceeded $751 million in the first half of 2026, an increase of 31% compared with the same period in 2025.

Non-oil trade between the UAE and Gabon reached $320.6 million in 2025, more than double the value recorded in 2021. UAE non-oil exports to Gabon rose 27% last year to $61.1 million.

Senegal trade reaches $1.3 billion

President Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye received Al Zeyoudi and the accompanying UAE delegation in Dakar, where discussions focused on strengthening trade and investment relations and exploring cooperation in priority sectors.

The two sides discussed increasing trade flows, encouraging mutual investment and expanding engagement between businesses in both countries across mining, renewable energy, infrastructure, food security and logistics.

Business-to-business meetings were held between ministers, officials and business leaders from the UAE and Senegal to review trade and investment opportunities and private-sector partnerships.

UAE exports to Gabon more than double in H1

President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema received Al Zeyoudi and the UAE delegation in Libreville, where talks focused on strengthening trade and investment relations between the two countries.

Bilateral non-oil trade reached $141.7 million in the first half of 2026, while UAE non-oil exports more than doubled to $62.7 million compared with the same period last year.

Key UAE export categories to Gabon in 2025 included perfumes and consumer goods, petroleum distillates and industrial equipment.

Gabon CEPA signed in February

The UAE and Gabon signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in Abu Dhabi in February 2026.

The agreement aims to reduce tariffs, remove trade barriers and increase investment flows in agriculture, logistics, mining and renewable energy.

Meetings during the Gabon visit also covered technology and infrastructure, while the UAE delegation met officials responsible for transport, commerce, energy, finance, oil and gas.

Al Zeyoudi attended the official opening of the SOLEN solar power plant in Aimé Plaine and the UAE delegation also visited the Nok Private Investment Zone.

UAE-Africa trade reaches $158 billion

The visits form part of the UAE’s wider trade and investment engagement across Africa.

UAE-Africa non-oil trade reached about $158 billion in 2025, up 41.6% from 2024, while Africa’s share of the UAE’s total non-oil trade rose to 15.5% from 10.8% in 2019.

UAE investments across the continent exceeded $110 billion between 2019 and 2024.

The UAE’s Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement programme has concluded 38 agreements since its launch in September 2021, with 18 now in force. The programme supports the country’s target of increasing non-oil foreign trade to $1.1 trillion by 2031.

- With inputs from WAM.