Nigeria and India have opened a fresh drive to rebuild bilateral trade to the $15 billion level, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling for the resumption of significant purchases of Nigerian crude oil.
The proposal was discussed during a bilateral meeting between Vice President Kashim Shettima and Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi, according to a statement issued on Monday by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications in the Office of the Vice President.
Trade between both countries stood at $14.95 billion in the 2021/2022 financial year but declined after India reduced its imports of Nigerian crude. Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Abhishek Singh, said the figure fell to $7.13 billion in 2024/2025 before recovering to about $9 billion in the 2025/2026 financial year.
Modi reportedly told Shettima that renewed energy trade could help return commercial exchanges between the two countries to their previous level. Crude oil has historically formed a substantial part of India’s imports from Nigeria and has remained central to the longstanding economic relationship between the two nations.
Shettima said the Federal Government would consider the request as part of President Bola Tinubu’s wider effort to attract investment and develop strategic partnerships that can strengthen Nigeria’s productive capacity.
The Vice President, however, emphasised that Nigeria wanted the relationship to extend beyond the export of raw commodities. He said the administration was seeking investments that would promote domestic manufacturing, value addition, employment and technology transfer.
He identified pharmaceuticals, defence, digital technology and the creative industries as priority areas for cooperation, particularly projects capable of creating meaningful opportunities for Nigeria’s youthful population.
Both leaders also considered expanded collaboration in renewable and clean energy, electricity, healthcare, capacity development and financial technology. They agreed that stronger private-sector involvement would be vital to the next phase of Nigeria-India economic relations, especially in areas where Indian companies possess established expertise and Nigeria offers considerable demand and investment potential.
The discussions further built on earlier agreements concerning digital public infrastructure and the rapid growth of the two countries’ digital economies. Shettima said Nigeria’s international partnerships must deliver measurable benefits through industrial expansion, skills development, technology transfer and job creation.
Modi expressed appreciation for Nigeria’s hospitality towards the large Indian community living and doing business in the country. Nigeria and India also reaffirmed their commitment to continued high-level political and economic engagement through bilateral channels, the India-Africa partnership framework and other multilateral platforms.
In a related development, Minister of Women Affairs Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim said Nigeria was adapting lessons from India’s women-led self-help group model to support grassroots entrepreneurship and improve women’s access to finance. She said the approach was being incorporated into the Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up through Women Affinity Groups designed to connect women with funding, skills and markets.
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