President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Sunday, conferred the national honour of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) on visiting Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi. He was honoured during the Nigeria/India Bilateral meeting held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The meeting is part of the activities marking the state visit of the Indian Prime Minister which President Tinubu said was to strengthen the existing relationship between Nigeria and India. “Nigeria values its excellent relationship with India, and we work to deepen and broaden the same to the mutual benefit of our two friendly countries.

“You represent a strong commitment to democratic values and norms, you have been doing a good job historically, winning three consecutive elections in a complex society is a feat that we respect so much. “I will confer on you today, the Prime Minister of India, Nigeria’s National Honour, the Grand Commander of the Order of Niger.

“This is to signify Nigerian appreciation and commitment to India as a partner” the President stressed. Nigeria and India also on Sunday reaffirmed their commitment to a robust strategic partnership, pledging to strengthen ties in key areas including economic development, defence, healthcare, and food security.

This was contained in a joint statement issued in Abuja after the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Nigeria at the invitation of President Tinubu. Shortly after, the Indian Prime Minister received a formal welcome, including a 21- artillery gun salute at the Presidential Villa, President Tinubu and Prime Minister Modi went into a tete-a-tete, and later jointly presided over an expanded bilateral and political talks.

During their bilateral discussion, the two leaders agreed to a greater collaboration in counterterrorism, maritime security, and intelligence sharing. With growing threats in the Gulf of Guinea and the Indian Ocean, they also agreed to a coordinated action to safeguard maritime trade routes and combat piracy.

The two countries pledged to continue regular naval exercises and joint anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Guinea to safeguard critical maritime routes.

“The leaders reiterated their unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations including the cross-border movement of terrorists and terror financing networks and safe havens.

“They called for zero tolerance to terrorism and expeditious finalization and adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the UN Framework as well as implementation of the UNGA and the UNSC resolutions on countering terrorism and violent extremism. It was agreed to enhance cooperation around counterterrorism,” the joint statement said.

Prime Minister Modi reiterated India’s readiness to support Nigeria’s defence modernization efforts, highlighting India’s emergence as a trusted defence manufacturer. The two leaders also highlighted the vibrant economic relationship between India and Nigeria, with India positioned as Nigeria’s largest trading partner and a significant contributor to its economy.

Nigeria commended the contributions of over 200 Indian companies operating in the country, which have generated substantial employment and investment opportunities. They both directed their officials to finalize pending agreements, including the Economic Cooperation Agreement (ECA), Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), and the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), to boost trade and investment.

They noted with satisfaction: “the fruitification of some of the investments” agreed to by the Indian companies during the visit of President Tinubu to India in September 2023, and committed to facilitating early finalization of the remaining investments.

On the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit held from September 9th-10th, 2023, in New Delhi, the Nigeria-India Presidential Roundtable and Business Conference took place, where Indian investors pledged a combined total of over $14 billion across critical sectors of the Nigerian economy. The investments were targeted at industrialization, energy, telecommunications, and defence sectors.

On infrastructure Development, the joint statement arising from Prime Minister Modi’s state visit stated that India reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Nigeria’s development priorities through concessional Lines of credit and technical expertise.

On energy collaboration, Nigeria and India agreed on long-term contracts for crude oil and LNG supply and technical support in pipeline transmission security, CNG conversion, and LPG bottling distribution.

The two leaders also discussed broader collaboration on food security and agriculture, health, education, and cultural exchanges. “They agreed to enhance collaboration in the area of agriculture from agricultural machinery, high yield seeds to sharing technical expertise, know-how, and technologies and agreed to identify ways of cooperation in these areas.

“The Indian side thanked the Nigerian side for supporting the Indian Resolution at the UN to declare 2023 as the International Year of Millets and agreed to increase collaboration between India and Nigeria in the area of Millets, ” the joint statement said.

In the healthcare sector, Nigeria and India pledged to deepen their collaboration focusing on the establishment of hospitals and diagnostic centers, as well as the deployment of innovative health management systems. Both sides acknowledged the ongoing efforts by Indian hospitals operating in Nigeria and highlighted the vast potential for further collaboration to enhance healthcare delivery across the country.

The Indian government offered to share its CoWIN digital platform, an open-source health management infrastructure that has revolutionized vaccination campaigns and health data management in India. This system is expected to support Nigeria’s healthcare system by improving the efficiency and accessibility of vaccination programs and other health initiatives.

The Indian government also extended its commitment to supply high-quality generic pharmaceutical products to Nigeria at economical rates under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) scheme- a campaign launched by India’s Department of Pharmaceuticals to provide quality medicines at affordable prices to the masses.

On working together through its membership in international organizations, India commended Nigeria for its reciprocal support of non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for 2028-2029. The two countries reiterated their joint commitment to UN Security Council reform and mutual support for permanent and non-permanent memberships.