The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), in partnership with Al Yaro International Company Limited, has announced plans to host the second Nigeria-Saudi Diaspora Investment and Tourism Exhibition Summit aimed at strengthening trade, investment and tourism relations between Nigeria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Secretary to the Commission, Dr Sule Bassi, who represented the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NiDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja.
He said the two-day summit would hold on August 4 and 5, 2026, at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja.
Bassi recalled that the maiden edition of the summit was held in Abuja in 2019 and attracted more than 30 Saudi companies and corporate organisations.
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“This is the second summit that Nigeria and Saudi Arabia are hosting on investments. The first summit in 2019 was very successful, and we are delighted that the second edition is now taking place in Abuja,” he said.
The summit, themed “The Misconceptions, Challenges, and Opportunities in Investing in Saudi Arabia and Nigeria Today,” is expected to attract more than 100 exhibitors and over 5,000 visitors during the two-day event.
According to Bassi, participants will explore investment opportunities across about 20 sectors, including energy, agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, information and communications technology (ICT), healthcare, logistics, real estate, and Hajj and Umrah services.
He noted that the exhibition would feature business-to-business (B2B) matchmaking sessions designed to facilitate partnerships between Nigerian and Saudi investors.
Describing the summit as one of NiDCOM’s flagship diaspora initiatives, Bassi said it was established to strengthen collaboration between Nigerians living in Saudi Arabia and stakeholders in both countries.
“We already have a large delegation from Saudi Arabia, including university professors, business leaders and members of the Nigerian diaspora. We look forward to a very successful Nigeria-Saudi Diaspora Investment and Tourism Exhibition,” he said.
Bassi further disclosed that organisers planned to institutionalise the exhibition as a biennial event, alternating between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia to deepen bilateral economic relations.
Earlier, the Head of Technology Transfer, Innovation and Investment at NiDCOM, Dr Abdulrahman Terab, described the summit as a strategic platform for transforming longstanding diplomatic and cultural ties into sustainable economic partnerships.
Terab said the event would help address misconceptions surrounding investments while highlighting opportunities in sectors such as agriculture, technology, trade, tourism and infrastructure.
He stressed that Nigerians in the diaspora remained central to the success of the initiative because of their global expertise, entrepreneurial experience and international networks.
“The summit provides a vital platform for converting diaspora goodwill into structured, measurable development outcomes by promoting investment facilitation, technology transfer and sustainable partnerships between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia,” Terab said.
The Head of Technology Transfer, Innovation and Investment at NiDCOM also urged the media to support the initiative through accurate and extensive coverage, describing journalists as indispensable partners in Nigeria’s economic diplomacy.
Also speaking, the Chairman of Al Yaro International Company Limited, Muhammed Umar, said the exhibition had evolved beyond a trade fair into a comprehensive international platform for governments, investors, business leaders and institutions to build strategic partnerships.
He said the exhibition enjoys the support of Vice President Kashim Shettima, alongside federal ministers, governors, diplomats, chambers of commerce, financial institutions and private sector leaders from both countries.
According to him, participants will engage in investment forums, policy dialogues, sector-focused workshops, product exhibitions, business meetings and the signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and commercial agreements.
Umar expressed appreciation to the Federal Government, NiDCOM and all stakeholders for supporting the initiative since its inception in 2019.
He expressed confidence that the Nigeria-Saudi Investment and Tourism Exhibition would become one of the leading bilateral economic platforms connecting Africa and the Middle East while promoting trade, investment, technology transfer and long-term economic cooperation between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.
