Nigeria, India target $15bn trade revival as Modi seeks renewed crude purchases

Nigeria and India have pledged to boost bilateral trade to a historic $15 billion level, with India aiming to reinstate its crude oil imports from the West African nation. The agreement was sealed during a meeting between India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nigeria's Vice President Kashim Shettima, which took place during the BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi.

The trade relationship between the two nations has plummeted from $14.95 billion in the 2021-2022 financial year to $7.13 billion in 2024-2025, primarily due to a drop in India's crude oil purchases from Nigeria. However, it rebounded to around $9 billion in 2025-2026. Modi emphasized the significance of restoring energy trade as part of the broader aim to bring bilateral commercial exchanges back to their former levels.

Shettima assured Modi that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration would consider India's request to resume crude oil purchases. Nigeria's leaders are also keen on diversifying their trade, moving away from traditional commodity trade to foster local manufacturing, employment generation, and technology transfer for their youthful population.

In addition to oil, the two countries agreed to deepen cooperation in areas such as fintech, digital public infrastructure, and creative industries. They also discussed potential collaborations in defence technology, power generation, clean energy, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and capacity building. On the social front, Nigeria is adapting India's women-led self-help group model through the Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up, according to the Women Affairs Minister, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim.