Nigeria, India Target $15bn Trade as Modi Seeks Renewed Crude Purchases

Nigeria and India have agreed to strengthen their economic partnership and work towards restoring bilateral trade to its previous level of nearly $15 billion, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking renewed purchases of Nigerian crude oil.

The commitment followed a bilateral meeting between Vice President Kashim Shettima and Modi on the sidelines of the recently concluded BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi.

Bilateral trade between both countries reached about $14.95 billion in the 2021–2022 financial year before falling to $7.13 billion in 2024–2025, largely due to reduced Indian purchases of Nigerian crude. It later recovered to about $9 billion in 2025–2026, according to figures disclosed by India’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Abhishek Singh.

During the meeting, Modi made a case for renewed crude oil purchases from Nigeria, saying stronger energy trade could help return commercial exchanges between the two countries to previous levels.

Responding, Shettima said Nigeria would examine the request as part of the Federal Government’s efforts to attract investment and build strategic partnerships capable of expanding the country’s productive capacity.

The Vice President identified pharmaceuticals, defence, digital technology and creative industries as areas of particular interest to Nigeria, stressing the need for partnerships that create jobs, transfer skills and provide opportunities for the country’s large youth population.

He said the administration of President Bola Tinubu was interested in moving Nigeria-India relations beyond the traditional exchange of commodities towards investments that support domestic production and value addition.

The two leaders also discussed cooperation in renewable and clean energy, power, healthcare, financial technology and capacity building.

Shettima said stronger private-sector engagement would be central to the next phase of the relationship, particularly in sectors where Indian companies have significant expertise and Nigeria has growing demand.

Meanwhile, Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, said Nigeria was adopting lessons from India’s women-led self-help group model to strengthen financial inclusion and grassroots enterprise.

She said the approach was being implemented through the Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up, using Women Affinity Groups to connect women with finance, skills and markets.

Sulaiman-Ibrahim added that women’s economic empowerment was central to the Federal Government’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy, stressing the need to bring more Nigerian women into productive economic activities.