India and Nigeria have called for an early conclusion of the ‘Local Currency Settlement System Agreement’ to further strengthen bilateral economic ties, an Indian Commerce Ministry statement said on Wednesday.
The statement came after the two-day India-Nigeria Joint Trade Committee (JTC) held on 29 and 30 April. The JTC was established in 2017 and the last round of talks were held in New Delhi in 2019.
The seven-member Indian delegation to Nigeria was led by Amardeep Singh Bhatia, Additional Secretary at India's Department of Commerce.
The Indian statement said that both sides identified several “focus areas” to enhance bilateral trade and mutually beneficial investments.
The areas of focus include oil and natural gas, introduction of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in Nigeria, power, road, railways, pharmaceuticals, agriculture as well as cooperation in Micro, Medium and Small Enterprises (MSMEs).
India ranks among Nigeria's top five trading partners, while Abuja is New Delhi's biggest trading partner in Africa, according to an official brief on bilateral ties.
Indian companies are the second biggest employer in Nigeria, trailing only the federal government.
The bilateral trade between Nigeria and India was valued at $11.8 billion in 2022-23, lower than $14.95 billion in 2021-22.
New Delhi attribute the lesser trade turnover to the decrease in volume of oil purchased by Indian refiners from Nigeria, though both the countries are focussed on bolstering the energy ties.