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Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar has hosted the sixth Nigeria – India Joint Commission Meeting on the 22nd January 2024.
The
meeting was held during the official visit of the Minister of External Affairs
of India, H.E S. Jaishankar to Nigeria from 21st – 23rd January 2024.
The Commission reviewed the decisions of the 5th Joint Commission and also the entire scope of bilateral relations between India and Nigeria.
They emphasized
the significance of the Sixth Session as the continuation of the era of
meaningful and expanding economic interaction between the two countries.
The
bilateral meeting held at the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs in Abuja covered a wide range
of sectors from Political, Culture, Aviation, Trade and Investment,
Developmental Partnership, Defence and Security
Cooperation to Consular Matters and Regional
issues and Multilateral Cooperation.
The meeting according to the Special Assistant to Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs on Media and Communications Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir culminated in the signing of an MoU on Cooperation on Renewable Energy.
The agreement seeks to focus on development of new and renewable energy technologies like Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Biomass/ Bio-energy, Small Hydro and Capacity building.
In
a parley with the press, after signing the MoU, Tuggar revealed Jaishankar had
earlier visited Lagos where he held productive meetings with the
India-Nigeria Business Forum and also addressed the Nigerian Institute Of
International Affairs (NIIA) in Lagos on India and the Global South.
"We had very fruitful deliberations at the 6th joint commission between Nigeria and India, several issues were discussed as regards different sectors ranging from economy, trade, consular issues, culture and aviation. I have to say that the meeting was very fruitful and rich," Tuggar said.
“You
know that Nigeria and India have a lot in common, we are two largest
democracies on the continent of Africa and Asia, we are the most populous and
we have a strong bond and we have been friends for a long time, our
relationship will continue to grow stronger” he further added.
Responding to the press at the parley, Jaishankar said, “India and Nigeria share a long-standing and friendly relationship which is rooted in history.
"We are the
largest democracies of the world and are the leaders in our continents. In
recent years, this has been renewed by contacts between our leaderships”.
India is one of the top economic
partners of Nigeria, with investments estimated at about 27 billion US Dollars
and an annual trade turnover estimated at between 13-15 Billion US Dollars.
The
next meeting (7th) of the Nigeria-India Joint Commission will be held in India.