President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s G20 Summit go to to India, on the particular invitation of Prime Minister Narendra (PM) Modi, is coming nearly precisely 61 years after Jawaharlal Nehru, the primary PM of India, visited Nigeria.

Since that historic September 1962 go to, hosted by Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, the primary (and solely) PM of Nigeria, in Lagos, Nigerian and Indian leaders have exchanged a number of visits, and presided over a bilateral relationship that has grown in leaps and bounds.

It is auspicious that this newest go to by a Nigerian President is occurring not solely towards the backdrop of India’s presidency of the G20, however in a season of inspiring breakthroughs in house exploration by India. In my time right here I’ve seen how a lot of a factor of delight these feats have been for the Indian folks. Successes of this nature are particularly important as a result of they rekindle nationwide hope and optimism, and gas the collective ambition to realize much more.

For me, on this first-ever go to to India—which additionally occurs to be my first worldwide engagement as Nigeria’s new minister of business, commerce and funding—I’ve been eager to see up shut what makes India tick, the powering forces behind ‘Incredible India’, what we in Nigeria can be taught—and what India would possibly be capable to be taught from us.

On Wednesday we hosted a presidential roundtable the place President Tinubu and senior ministers met main Indian businesspersons. The President was emphatic in his message to Indians trying to spend money on Nigeria: “Do not procrastinate. Don’t be frightened about investments in Nigeria… I have a team, and I am the captain of that team, and I assure you that we solve problems.”

Quite a few vital agreements have been signed at that occasion, together with one between the Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria Limited (InfraCorp) and Invest India, and one other one between the Nigerian ministry of communication, innovation and digital financial system and the Indian ministry of electronics and data expertise. We additionally noticed funding commitments amounting to a number of billions of {dollars} by SkipperSeil Group, Jindal Steel and Power Limited, Bharti Enterprises, Indorama Petrochemical Limited and plenty of extra.

My bilateral assembly with the Indian minister of commerce and business, Piyush Goyal, offered yet one more alternative to debate how Nigeria and India can enhance commerce and funding relations.

In my conferences right here with numerous Indian entrepreneurs who’re already doing enterprise in Nigeria, I’m struck by their love and fervour for Nigeria, and the way proud they’re to be seen as champions of the funding potential of Nigeria. Our work is made a lot simpler with these enthusiastic promoters of Nigeria and its immense alternatives.

I’ve felt very a lot at house right here in India. Anyone who is aware of each international locations will concentrate on simply how a lot we have now in widespread: our colonial heritage, fast-growing, multilingual, multi-religious populations, the success tales of our younger folks, particularly in ICT, and our teeming diasporas.

The Indian diaspora in Nigeria has existed for a lot of a long time now; consisting of tens of 1000’s of Indian nationals who contemplate Nigeria their second house, and are to be discovered thriving in numerous sectors, from manufacturing to hospitality to grease and gasoline, and well being care. There are actually greater than 130 Indian corporations which can be energetic in Nigeria.

Our relationship is a robust and thriving one, and the G20 participation invitation prolonged to President Tinubu by PM Modi is proof of this. India occurs to be President Tinubu’s first Asian vacation spot since assuming workplace; and one of many first businesspersons he met upon assumption of workplace was Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of Bharti Enterprises, which owns Nigeria’s second-biggest telecoms firm.

India has demonstrated the way to accomplish lots of the issues we’re prioritising as a rustic, just like the digital enumeration of all residents, improvement of an ICT sector that may be a world powerhouse, and the struggle towards poverty. One essential takeaway for us is to know PM Modi’s unprecedented success in lifting 135 million Indians out of poverty in 5 years, and to use an analogous mannequin in Nigeria.

We are pushing ahead on all elements of our bilateral relationship. Following the signing and ratification of a Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and India, in 2020, Nigeria’s largest airline, Air Peace, started twice-weekly flights between Lagos and Mumbai, in April 2023. However, we have to fast-track the signing of our Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (IPPA), and Economic Cooperation Agreement (ECA), with India. Joining the G20, as Africa’s largest financial system and most populous nation, will little doubt place Nigeria to learn from much more beneficial commerce and financial ties with India and different main world economies.

This go to marks the start of a brand new vista for Nigeria-India relations, beneath the management of President Tinubu and PM Modi. There are actually no limits to what we are able to obtain, for the mutual advantage of our folks.

In Nigeria we’re critical about letting the world know that we’re a rustic that’s prepared and open for enterprise. Within 90 minutes of his arrival in India, on Tuesday, President Tinubu held his first assembly, with Prakash Hinduja, chairman and CEO of the Hinduja Group of Companies.

The President’s phrases to Mr. Hinduja throughout that assembly are a becoming solution to shut this piece: “I am here to personally assure our friends and investors that there is no bottleneck that I will not break. Nigeria will become one of the most conducive places on earth to make good profits and create lasting jobs. With my support, there is nothing standing in your way of enjoying the unrivaled opportunities presented by our massive market and the ingenious, and hardworking nature of the Nigerian people. We are open for business.”

This article is authored by Doris Uzoka-Anite, minister of business, commerce and funding, Federal Republic of Nigeria.