Nigeria, India move to rebuild $15bn trade ties
Abdullateef Fowewe
Nigeria and India have agreed to deepen their strategic economic relationship, with New Delhi pushing for renewed purchases of Nigerian crude oil as both countries work to rebuild bilateral trade toward its previous high of nearly $15 billion.
Bilateral trade between the two countries stood at about $14.95 billion in the 2021–2022 financial year before falling sharply, largely due to reduced Indian purchases of Nigerian crude.
The figure dropped to $7.13 billion in 2024–2025 but recovered to about $9 billion in 2025–2026, according to data disclosed by India’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Abhishek Singh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a case for renewed crude purchases from Nigeria, arguing that stronger energy trade could help return commercial exchanges between both countries to previous levels.
Responding to Modi’s request, Vice President Kashim Shettima said, “Nigeria would examine the request as part of broader efforts by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to attract investment and build strategic partnerships capable of expanding the country’s productive capacity.”
Shettima identified pharmaceuticals, defence, digital technology and the creative industries as areas of particular interest to Nigeria, stressing the need for partnerships that create jobs, transfer skills and open opportunities for the country’s large youth population.
He added, “The President Tinubu administration is particularly interested in moving Nigeria’s relationship with India beyond the traditional exchange of commodities towards investments that support domestic production and value addition.”
The two leaders also discussed expanded cooperation in renewable and clean energy, power, healthcare, capacity building, financial technology and other emerging sectors.
Both agreed that stronger private-sector engagement would be central to the next phase of Nigeria–India relations, particularly in industries where Indian companies already possess considerable expertise and Nigerian demand remains strong.
Discussions covered greater collaboration in fintech and digital technology, building on both countries’ rapidly expanding digital economies and earlier agreements on digital public infrastructure.
Shettima said President Tinubu’s objective was to ensure that international partnerships translate into investment, technology transfer, industrial growth and tangible economic opportunities for Nigerians.
Nigeria and India also expressed their commitment to sustaining high-level political and economic engagement, including through the India–Africa partnership framework and other multilateral platforms.
Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, said Nigeria is drawing lessons from India’s women-led self-help group model to strengthen financial inclusion and grassroots enterprise.
She said the approach is being adopted through the Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up, using Women Affinity Groups to connect women to finance, skills and markets.
According to her, the programme forms part of the Federal Government’s wider drive to expand women’s participation in productive economic activity, while also strengthening social protection and interventions against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.
“Women’s economic empowerment is fundamental to our ambition of building a $1 trillion economy. We must deliberately bring millions more Nigerian women into productive economic activity,” the Minister added.
The renewed push builds on a longstanding economic relationship in which crude oil has historically accounted for a significant share of India’s imports from Nigeria.
This was disclosed in a statement obtained on Monday from Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to The President on Media & Communications (Office of The Vice President).
Prime Minister Modi also expressed appreciation for Nigeria’s hospitality towards the sizeable Indian community living and doing business in the country.
