India accords high priority to its strategic partnership with Nigeria and it will work towards boosting ties in a range of areas, including defence, energy and trade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during his talks with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Sunday.
In his televised opening remarks at the meeting, Modi identified terrorism, separatism, piracy and drug trafficking as major challenges and said the two countries will continue to work together to deal with them.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held extensive talks with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu focusing on boosting the India-Nigeria partnership in a range of areas, including trade, investment and digital public infrastructure.
Modi arrived in the Nigerian capital early Sunday on the first trip to the West African country by an Indian prime minister after a gap of 17 years.
The prime minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the presidential villa following which he held one-on-one meeting with Tinubu.
Modi also described the around 60,000-strong Indian expatriate community as a key pillar of India-Nigeria relations and thanked Tinubu for ensuring their welfare.
The prime minister also announced that India is sending 20 tonnes of relief supplies for Nigerian people hit by last month's floods.
He also referred to the African Union becoming a permanent member of the G20 at the India-hosted summit of the grouping last year and described it as a significant outcome.
Before the delegation-level talks, Modi and Tinubu held a one-on-one meeting at the Presidential Villa.
Both sides are likely to ink several agreements following the delegation-level talks.
Modi is in Nigeria as part of a three-nation tour. From Abuja, he will travel to Brazil to attend the G20 summit. His last destination will be Guyana.
The India-Nigeria ties were elevated to the status of a ‘strategic partnership’ during the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the African nation in October 2007.
Nigeria has been a close partner of India for over six decades.
New Delhi established its diplomatic House in Lagos in November 1958, two years before Nigeria became independent in 1960.
The presence of a large Indian expatriate community of about 60,000, the largest in West Africa, adds value to the importance of the long-standing relationship between the two countries.
There are more than 200 Indian companies who have invested about USD 27 billion in all important manufacturing sectors and these companies are the second largest employers after the federal government, according to Indian officials.
India has emerged as a development partner of Nigeria on two fronts — by offering developmental assistance through concessional loans (USD 100 million) and by offering capacity-building training programmes.
PM Modi gets Nigeria's second-highest national accolade
PM Modi receives Nigeria's second-highest national accolade, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, making him the second foreign dignitary to receive the honour.
Sources in the Indian government have confirmed the development. This will be the 17th such international award being conferred on Modi by a country, they said.
Queen Elizabeth was the only foreign dignitary to receive the GCON in 1969.
PM Modi was presented with 'Key to the City' of Abuja by Minister for Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Ezenwo Wike.
"The key symbolises the trust and honour bestowed on the prime minister by the people of Nigeria," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a post on X.
Nigeria's Marathi community thanks Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday posted on X a letter sent by the Maharashtrian community in Nigeria expressing joy at Marathi being given classical language status.
The Union cabinet, in a meeting chaired by PM Modi in the first week of October, approved a proposal to grant classical language status to Marathi as well as Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali.
"In Nigeria, the Marathi community expressed joy at Marathi being conferred the status of a classical language. It is truly commendable how they remain connected to their roots," the PM wrote on X.
The letter by the Maharashtra Mandal Residents Association, dated November 16, thanked the PM and hailed him for the decision.
"It has made Marathi language speakers proud. Classical language status will promote Marathi literature and culture," the letter said.
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