Prime Minister Modi is travelling to Nigeria.
He starts a three nation tour on Saturday.
Now Guyana and Brazil as you know are in South
America and Nigeria is in Africa.
So this top may seem a bit off but its
deliberate and significant.
This is the first time in 17 years that an
Indian Prime Minister is visiting Nigeria.
There are 54 countries in Africa.
Nigeria has the biggest population and the second largest economy.
It is also a strategic partner of India.
There is a growing economic relationship.
Both sides are expanding ties in areas like energy and
defence.
More than 200 Indian companies have invested in Nigeria.
Their investment is worth over $27 billion.
Then there's the Diaspora Connect.
About 50,000 Indians or people of Indian origin live in
Nigeria.
They are well respected for their business acumen.
Typically, these areas shape a bilateral relationship.
So India and Nigeria have the right ingredients and the
roots of their friendship go deep.
Both nations are former British colonies.
They face similar challenges.
They have large populations, growing developmental needs and mutual concerns
on issues like corruption and terrorism.
This opens the door for collaboration.
India has the right CRE credentials to be a reliable
partner for Nigeria.
This country is a major hub for petroleum products and
India is among the largest buyers.
In 2022, India imported around $10 billion worth of crude
from Nigeria.
So they can build on this trade relationship.
Plus, there is goodwill.
Last year, the African Union joined the G20.
It was.
It was a proposal floated by New Delhi.
India was the G20 president.
Prime Minister Modi had led the effort to build consensus.
He secured the votes from G20 members and facilitated the
inclusion of the African Union.
The mission was a success.
It boosted India's engagement with Africa.
Now in Delhi can take it forward.
Nigeria faces severe economic challenges.
Its been called their worst economic crisis in a generation.
There is widespread hardship.
Inflation crossed 30% this year.
Their currency, the NIRA, has collapsed.
There is a massive debt burden.
Nigeria's external debt has crossed $42 billion, which is a
significant sum.
The economic crisis has led to civil unrest.
Nigerias president is Bola Tinubu.
He took office last year.
He took some tough calls to fix the economy like
ending petroleum subsidies and a large scale purge of government
officials.
It caused more pain.
Now President Tinubu says that the worst is over.
But to build long term resilience, they will need the
help of partners.
Partners like II is in a position to help.
The other area for collaboration could be defence.
Nigeria is a potential market for India and its defence
exporters, and India can offer small arms and ammunition, armoured
vehicles, even light combat aircraft like the Tejas.
Earlier this year, India sent a delegation to Nigeria.
So preliminary talks have already happened.
The Nigerians are ready to work with the Indian defence
industry.
Prime Minister Modi's visit could accelerate these efforts.
He's expected to touchdown tomorrow.
We will keep track for you.