On September 4, 2025, Nigeria and China deepened their collaboration in the marine and blue economy sector during a significant meeting held at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja. Nigeria’s Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, and the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai,
Key details of this collaboration include the focus areas are port development. This agenda is expected to give the Nigerian aquaculture exports a boost as well as enhance the development of the shipping, fisheries, marine tourism, and coastal infrastructures.
The government aims to harness Nigeria’s maritime domain, which holds immense potential through this partnership. The sector’s most valuable marker is the 853 kilometers of Atlantic coastline and over 10,000 kilometers of inland waterways.
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China supports Nigeria by sharing its marine and blue economy development model, to foster investment and partnership frameworks.
A prominent example of their cooperation is the Lekki Deep Seaport, constructed by China Harbour Engineering Company. The structure is a major deep-seaport in West Africa capable of handling ultra-large container vessels.
This port has created thousands of jobs, eased congestion at Lagos ports, boosted trade volumes, and is expected to generate billions of dollars in revenue.
A $2 billion maritime investment deal was signed to accelerate indigenous vessel ownership. This includes $20 billion in freight contracts for Nigerian operators, $200 million for maritime training, and $50 million for training vessels.
It aims is to create over 2,000 maritime jobs annually and train 25,000 globally certified Nigerian seafarers.
China has approved zero tariffs on Nigerian aquaculture exports, expanding market access and strengthening food trade between the two countries
This collaboration builds on the strong Nigeria-China relations, notably reinforced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s state visit to China a year before. The visit produced significant economic benefits including deepened cooperation in trade, infrastructure, and industrial development.
