Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited President Bola Tinubu to attend the BRICS Leaders’ Summit scheduled to take place in New Delhi from September 12 to 13.
Gatekeepers News reports that Abhishek Singh, India’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, disclosed the invitation while speaking with journalists in Abuja on Wednesday.
Singh said India was hopeful that Tinubu would lead a high-powered Nigerian delegation to the summit, describing Nigeria’s participation as strategically important to the BRICS partnership.
“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.
Explaining the importance of Nigeria’s participation, the envoy said the country’s position as Africa’s largest economy and one of the world’s most populous nations made it an important BRICS partner.
“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 said.
Singh said Nigeria and India had continued to support each other in international forums, including their respective aspirations for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council.
He also highlighted the strong people-to-people ties between both countries, noting that about 60,000 Indians live in Nigeria.
According to the high commissioner, many members of the Indian community have become deeply integrated into Nigerian society, with some families now in their second and third generations in the country.
He said the community had become an important bridge between Nigeria and India in areas including education, healthcare, culture and commerce.
Singh further disclosed that bilateral trade between Nigeria and India was approaching $10 billion, while more than 200 Indian companies currently operate in Nigeria.
He added that Indian companies employ nearly 100,000 Nigerians, with bilateral cooperation expanding into sectors such as defence, energy, healthcare, agriculture and technology.
The high commissioner said Tinubu’s participation in the BRICS summit would provide an opportunity to further strengthen relations between Abuja and New Delhi while promoting greater integration and cooperation among countries of the Global South.
