India and Nigeria are set to conclude a local currency settlement system agreement, aiming to further strengthen economic ties between the two countries.
A seven-member delegation from India, led by secretary in the commerce ministry Amardeep Singh Bhatia, recently visited Abuja, Nigeria for the second session of the India-Nigeria Joint Trade Committee (JTC) on April 29-30, marking the first meeting in five years. Both sides have identified several focus areas to enhance bilateral trade and mutually beneficial investments, including crude oil, natural gas, pharmaceuticals, unified payments interface (UPI), power and renewable energy, agriculture and food processing, education, transport, railway, aviation, and MSMEs development.
According to India’s department of commerce, the department has announced on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that both sides have agreed to the early conclusion of a local currency settlement system agreement to further strengthen bilateral economic ties.
A local currency settlement system between the two countries would promote the use of Indian Rupee and Nigerian Naira for cross-border transactions. Several Indian companies are already present in Nigeria across various sectors such as telecom, hydrocarbons, textiles, chemicals, electrical equipment, pharmaceuticals, plastics, IT, and auto sectors. Indian automobile companies also have a significant presence in Nigeria.
India’s main exports to Nigeria include machinery and instruments, drugs, pharma and fine chemicals, transport equipment, electronic goods, and manufacture of metals. Imports mainly include petroleum, crude and products, non-ferrous metals, wood and wood products, and cashew nuts.
The bilateral trade between India and Nigeria stood at USD 11.85 billion in 2022-23, with exports worth $5.2 billion and imports worth $6.7 billion.
This trade decreased from about $15 billion in 2021-22.
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