Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to attend the BRICS Leaders’ Summit scheduled to take place in New Delhi from September 12 to 13.
The invitation was disclosed on Wednesday in Abuja by the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Abhishek Singh, during a briefing with journalists.
Singh said India was optimistic that President Tinubu would lead a strong Nigerian delegation to the summit, which is expected to bring together leaders and representatives of BRICS member states and partner countries.
“President of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has been invited to the BRICS Summit, which is going to take place in New Delhi in a few weeks from now, and we are very hopeful that the honourable president of Nigeria will be leading a high-powered delegation for the BRICS Summit very soon,” Singh said.
The envoy stressed that Nigeria’s participation was significant because of the country’s economic and demographic importance both in Africa and globally.
“Why do we feel that Nigeria’s participation as a BRICS partner country is important? Because as Africa’s largest economy and one of the most populous nations in the world now, Nigeria as a partner country brings immense strategic importance,” he stated.
Singh noted that India and Nigeria have continued to support each other on major international issues, including their shared aspirations for permanent representation on the United Nations Security Council.
He also highlighted the strong people-to-people relationship between the two countries, revealing that about 60,000 Indians currently reside in Nigeria.
According to him, many members of the Indian community have become deeply rooted in Nigerian society, with some families now in their second and third generations in the country.
The high commissioner described the Indian community as an important bridge between Abuja and New Delhi in areas such as education, healthcare, culture and commerce.
On economic relations, Singh said bilateral trade between Nigeria and India is approaching $10 billion, while more than 200 Indian companies operate in Nigeria, employing nearly 100,000 Nigerians.
He added that cooperation between the two countries is expanding across several strategic sectors, including defence, energy, healthcare, agriculture and technology.
Singh expressed confidence that the forthcoming BRICS summit would provide an opportunity to deepen relations between Nigeria and India and promote greater cooperation among countries of the Global South.
The summit is expected to focus on issues relating to economic cooperation, development financing, trade, technology, energy transition and global governance reforms, with partner countries such as Nigeria expected to play an increasingly important role in BRICS engagements.
