Maureen Okpe
Nigeria and India have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on renewable energy, focusing on the development of technologies such as solar, wind, small hydro, biomass, and bioenergy.
The MoU was signed during the 6th Nigeria-India joint commission meeting, held on Monday in Abuja, as part of the official visit of the Minister of External Affairs of India, H.E S. Jaishankar.
According to a statement from the Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy to the Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alkasim Abdulkadir, the agreement aims to promote cooperation in renewable energy technologies, including solar energy, wind energy, biomass/bio-energy, small hydro, and capacity building.
The bilateral meeting covered a wide range of sectors, including politics, culture, aviation, trade and investment, developmental partnership, defense and security cooperation, consular matters, regional issues, and multilateral cooperation. The Commission reviewed decisions from the previous Joint Commission meeting and underscored the significance of the ongoing economic interaction between the two countries.
Speaking to the press after signing the MoU, Tuggar highlighted the productive nature of the discussions, emphasizing the historical and growing relationship between Nigeria and India. He noted their commonalities as the largest democracies in Africa and Asia and expressed confidence in the continued strengthening of their ties.
Jaishankar, the Minister of External Affairs of India, emphasised the long-standing and friendly relationship between India and Nigeria, rooted in history and renewed through recent contacts between their leaderships.
He said: “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.
“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”.
“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”, he added.
India is a significant economic partner for Nigeria, with investments estimated at about 27 billion US Dollars and an annual trade turnover between 13-15 billion US Dollars. The next meeting (7th) of the Nigeria-India Joint Commission is scheduled to be held in India.