Nigeria and India are seeking to rebuild bilateral trade to its previous peak of nearly $15 billion, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling for renewed purchases of Nigerian crude oil as the two countries move to deepen economic cooperation.

The renewed push followed a bilateral meeting between Vice President Kashim Shettima and Modi on the sidelines of the just-concluded BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi.

Also on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit, the Chinese President Xi Jinping received in audience the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

During the meeting, President Xi and the WTO Director-General deliberated on China’s role and support for the reforms of the WTO.

Disclosing the outcome of the meeting in a post on X, Okonjo-Iweala said: “Excellent follow-up with H.E. President Xi Jinping on China’s role in and support for @wto reforms.”

The former Nigerian Minister of Finance and Coordinator of the Economy further said President Xi reiterated the importance to global trade of a reformed and well-functioning multilateral trading system and China’s support.

At the meeting, Modi made a case for renewed crude oil purchases from Nigeria, arguing that stronger energy trade could help restore bilateral commercial exchanges to their previous levels.

Responding, Shettima said Nigeria would examine the request as part of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s broader strategy to attract investment and forge strategic partnerships capable of expanding the country’s productive capacity.

The Vice President also identified pharmaceuticals, defence, digital technology and the creative industries as priority areas for deeper Nigerian-Indian cooperation.

He stressed that future partnerships must go beyond traditional commodity exchanges to generate jobs, facilitate technology and skills transfer and create opportunities for Nigeria’s growing youth population.

According to Shettima, the Tinubu administration is particularly interested in repositioning Nigeria’s relationship with India around investments that promote domestic production, industrialisation and value addition.

The two sides also explored expanded cooperation in renewable and clean energy, power, healthcare, capacity building, financial technology and other emerging sectors.

The renewed economic engagement builds on a longstanding relationship between the two countries, with crude oil historically accounting for a significant share of India’s imports from Nigeria.