India, Nigeria agree to early conclusion of local currency settlement

India and Nigeria have agreed to an early conclusion of a local currency settlement system agreement to further strengthen economic ties between the two countries.

According to the department of commerce, a seven-member delegation from India led by Additional Secretary in the commerce ministry Amardeep Singh Bhatia visited Abuja, Nigeria for the second session of India-Nigeria Joint Trade Committee (JTC) on April 29-30. It was held after a gap of five years.

Both sides have identified several focus areas to enhance bilateral trade and mutually beneficial investments.

The sectors include crude oil, natural gas, pharmaceuticals, unified payments interface (UPI), local currency settlement system, power and renewable energy, agriculture and food processing, education, transport, railway, aviation, and MSMEs development.

"Both sides agreed to the early conclusion of a local currency settlement system agreement to further strengthen bilateral economic ties," the department has said on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

A local currency settlement system between the two countries would help in promoting the use of Indian Rupee and Nigerian Naira for cross-border transactions.

There are several Indian companies present in Nigeria in telecom, hydrocarbons, textiles, chemicals, electrical equipment, pharmaceuticals, plastics, IT and auto sectors.

Indian automobile companies have a significant presence in Nigeria.

India's main exports to Nigeria include machinery and instruments, drugs, pharma and fine chemicals, transport equipment, electronic goods, and manufacture of metals. Imports mainly include petroleum, crude and products, non-ferrous metals, wood and wood products, and cashew nuts.

The bilateral trade stood at USD 11.85 billion (exports $5.2 billion and imports $6.7 billion) in 2022-23. The trade was about $15 billion in 2021-22.

Further, a senior commerce ministry official delegation also visited Australia and New Zealand.