Nigeria plays a decisive role promoting stability and democracy in the region and has major economic potential. For Germany, the country is a central global partner with high-level political meetings being held regularly. Federal President Steinmeier visited Nigeria in December 2024 with a business delegation. There have been bilateral relations in the field of German development cooperation since 1974. The last meeting of the German-Nigerian Binational Commission, which was founded in 2011 and has working groups in the fields of business, energy, foreign and security policy, culture, migration and policing and finally development cooperation, took place in Berlin on 4 November 2025 and was chaired by the foreign ministers.

In the fight against terrorist threats, the German Government is assisting with the training and equipping of the Nigerian security forces and contributing to cross-border stabilisation projects.

Nigeria is Germany’s second-largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa. German business has been present in Nigeria since 1983 with an office of the German Chambers of Commerce Abroad. One priority of bilateral economic relations is cooperation in the energy sector.

The German-Nigerian energy partnership, which has been in place since 2008, was expanded in 2021 in line with the Federal Government’s National Hydrogen Strategy with the opening of a Hydrogen Office in Abuja.

With a funding volume of over 650 million euro, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) are working in the country primarily in these areas: sustainable economic development, vocational training and employment, rural development, the expansion of renewable energies and health. The GIZ works closely with the German private sector, for example with BASF, SAP, DHL and Krones.

The return of the first Benin Bronzes to Nigeria by then Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in December 2022 injected new impetus into cultural relations. Lagos has been home to the Goethe-Institut Nigeria since 1962. Enthusiasm about learning German is considerable. Since 2025 the Goethe-Institut has also been offering language courses in the capital Abuja. Many Nigerians are successful in applying for scholarships to study or conduct research in Germany. The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung have offices in Nigeria.