Vice President Kashim Shettima has returned to Nigeria after representing President Bola Tinubu at the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi, India.
Shettima’s return followed a series of high-level meetings focused on strengthening Nigeria’s economic relations with India and other BRICS member states and partner countries.
During his visit, the Vice President met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss ways to revive bilateral trade, including the possibility of increased Indian purchases of Nigerian crude oil.
The discussions came amid a decline in trade between Nigeria and India. Bilateral trade dropped from approximately $14.95 billion in the 2021–2022 financial year to $7.13 billion in 2024–2025 before rising to about $9 billion in 2025–2026.
Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Abhishek Singh, had linked much of the decline to reduced purchases of Nigerian crude.
Modi subsequently called for renewed energy cooperation, expressing hope that increased crude oil imports from Nigeria would help strengthen commercial ties between both countries.
In response, Shettima said the Nigerian government would consider the proposal as part of its efforts to attract investment and establish partnerships that could expand the country’s productive capacity.
However, the Vice President stressed that Nigeria’s relationship with India should extend beyond the traditional exchange of commodities.
He identified pharmaceuticals, defence, digital technology and the creative industry as key areas for deeper cooperation. According to him, such partnerships should promote job creation, skills development and technology transfer for Nigeria’s growing youthful population.
Shettima’s return also followed discussions on renewable energy, healthcare, financial technology, power and other emerging sectors.
The Vice President held a separate meeting with World Trade Organisation Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, where he reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to multilateral cooperation and reforms aimed at creating a fairer global economic system.
At the summit, Shettima presented President Tinubu’s position on reforming global governance and international financial institutions. He also highlighted Nigeria’s strategic position as a gateway to Africa’s expanding market under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The Federal Government further explored opportunities to adapt India’s women-led self-help group model to support Nigerian women through improved access to finance, skills and markets.
Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, said the government was implementing the approach through the Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up and Women Affinity Groups.
She explained that empowering more women to participate in productive economic activities was essential to Nigeria’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy.
Both Nigeria and India agreed that stronger private-sector participation would be crucial to expanding their economic relationship, particularly in areas where Indian businesses possess expertise and Nigerian demand remains high.
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