Nigeria and India have agreed to work towards restoring bilateral trade to its previous peak of nearly $15 billion, with India seeking to resume stronger crude oil purchases from Nigeria.
The commitment was reached during a bilateral meeting between Vice President Kashim Shettima and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi.
Trade between the two countries fell from $14.95 billion in the 2021–2022 financial year to $7.13 billion in 2024–2025, largely due to a decline in India’s crude oil purchases from Nigeria. It later recovered to about $9 billion in 2025–2026.
Modi stressed the importance of restoring energy trade as part of efforts to return bilateral commercial exchanges to previous levels.
Shettima assured him that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration would review India’s request to resume crude oil purchases.
A bilateral meeting between Nigeria and India on the sidelines of the BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi.
The Vice President also stressed Nigeria’s intention to move beyond traditional commodity trade by attracting investments that support local manufacturing, create jobs and facilitate technology transfer for the country’s young population.
Beyond the oil sector, both countries agreed to strengthen cooperation in key areas, including fintech, digital public infrastructure and the creative industries.
They also agreed to explore partnerships in defence technology, power generation and clean energy, while promoting investment in pharmaceuticals, healthcare and capacity building.
On the social development front, the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, said Nigeria is adapting India’s women-led self-help group model through the Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up.
She said the initiative uses Women Affinity Groups to promote financial inclusion, grassroots enterprise and social protection as part of Nigeria’s broader drive towards a $1 trillion economy.
Global Reforms
Nigeria had earlier called for an urgent overhaul of global governance structures and international financial institutions to better reflect contemporary economic and demographic realities.
“Nigeria supports a more representative, equitable and responsive global governance architecture, including reform of the United Nations Security Council and the international financial system,” Shettima said.” BRICS amplifies the voice of the Global South and advances a more inclusive international order, consistent with Nigeria’s call for institutions that reflect contemporary economic and demographic realities.”
Positioning Nigeria as the gateway to Africa’s market under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Vice President urged BRICS to transition from dialogue to measurable delivery.
Pointing to initiatives like 3MTT, Project BRIDGE, and national AI programs, he emphasised that Nigeria’s dynamic youth are driving its innovation agenda across artificial intelligence, fintech, and digital public infrastructure. Shettima asserted:
“We welcome deeper BRICS cooperation in artificial intelligence, digital public infrastructure, fintech, telecommunications, cybersecurity, biotechnology and advanced manufacturing, because developing countries must produce technology, create knowledge and own intellectual property. A nation that owns no technology risks renting its future,” he said.
He further outlined the ultimate goal of these diplomatic and economic engagements.
“Our partnerships must create jobs, expand trade, transfer technology, and strengthen our nations’ productive capacity. We must build a future in which Africa moves from the margins of global development to the frontiers of global growth and innovation,” the VP added.
Earlier, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the summit by emphasising that BRICS thrives on diversity and inclusion—expanding beyond governments to empower entrepreneurs, farmers, researchers, women, and youth through tools like BRICS CONNECT while balancing development with environmental sustainability.
“We may be rooted in different realities, but together, we rise through cooperation and blossom for humanity,” he said.
