Nigeria and India to Adopt Local Currencies for Bilateral Trade

India and Nigeria are on the verge of reaching an agreement on settling local-currency debt, which will further strengthen their economic ties.

The Indian commerce and industry ministry made this announcement after the second Session of the India-Nigeria Joint Trade Committee, where various areas of cooperation such as energy, pharmaceuticals, and transport were discussed.

The official delegation from India included representatives from the Reserve Bank of India, EXIM Bank of India, and the National Payments Corporation of India.

Both countries have also identified several key sectors for enhancing bilateral trade and investments, including crude oil, natural gas, pharmaceuticals, power sector, renewable energy, and more.

Nigeria is currently India’s second-largest trading partner in Africa, with bilateral trade reaching $11.8 billion in 2022-23. However, in 2023-24, bilateral trade declined to $7.89 billion. Despite this, there are still 135 Indian companies actively operating in Nigeria’s market, with a total investment of $27 billion across various sectors.