India and Nigeria: diplomatic relations and milestones

This article describes the diplomatic relationship between India and Nigeria: its foundations, the Strategic Partnership, visits by heads of state and government and by ministers, and the dialogue mechanisms between the two governments. It is based on the MEA brief of April 2026 and reflects the position as of that date.

Foundations of the relationship

The MEA brief of April 2026 describes India-Nigeria relations as warm, friendly and deep-rooted. It notes that India, with a population of 1.4 billion, and Nigeria, with over 220 million, are large developing and democratic countries with multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-lingual societies. The brief describes India as the largest democracy in the world and Nigeria as the largest in Africa, and calls them natural partners.

According to the brief, the struggle against colonialism and apartheid in the formative years after independence laid the foundation for engagement between the two countries. Both take part in South-South Cooperation, and the brief says that in multilateral organisations, particularly the United Nations, G77 and NAM, they have articulated the voice of the developing world in a coordinated manner.

Early diplomatic presence

India established its Diplomatic House in Lagos in November 1958, two years before Nigeria became independent in 1960. The brief states that political contacts at the highest level have been maintained over the last 65 years.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, visited Nigeria from 23-27 September 1962, a visit the brief lists as the first ever State Visit. His interaction with Nigeria's first Prime Minister, Tafawa Balewa, is described in the brief as having created mutual goodwill, respect and friendship.

The Strategic Partnership

During the State Visit of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to Nigeria in October 2007, the two countries adopted the Abuja Declaration for Strategic Partnership and raised the status of the relationship to a Strategic Partnership. The brief describes this as a move from "Historical Friendship" to "Strategic Partners".

Prime Minister Modi's State visit, November 2024

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi paid a State visit to Nigeria from 16-17 November 2024. The programme included a tete-a-tete with President Tinubu, followed by delegation-level talks that reviewed the gamut of bilateral relations. Areas of further cooperation discussed included maritime security, energy security, defence, health, education, trade and investment, food security including agriculture mechanisation, combating terrorism, piracy and drug trafficking, and cooperation in international forums.

At the State lunch hosted in his honour, the Prime Minister was conferred the Grand Commander of the Order of Niger Award. The following documents were signed during the visit:

• Program on Cultural Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of India and the Federal Republic of Nigeria
• Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Survey Cooperation
• a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Custom Matters, described in the trade article

Visits by heads of state and government

The brief lists the following visits from Nigeria to India:

• President Shehu Shagari, January 1983, as Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations
• President Gen Sani Abacha, March 1994, for the G15 Summit
• President Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, April 1999
• President Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, 24-28 January 2000, State Visit as Chief Guest at India's 50th Republic Day celebrations
• President Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, 2-3 November 2004, transit visit
• Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, 5-7 November 2007, for the Federalism Conference
• Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, April 2008, leading a large delegation including the Delta and Bayelsa State Governors and the MOS (Gas) to the first India-Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi
• President Muhammadu Buhari, 26-30 October 2015, for the Third India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-III) in New Delhi
• President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, 5-10 September 2023, for the G20 Leaders' Summit
• Vice President Kashim Shettima Mustapha, September 2026, heading the Nigerian Delegation to the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, where he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi

The brief notes that Goodluck Jonathan later served as President from 2011-2015. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with President Buhari in 2015 enabled the two countries to review bilateral engagement, and Prime Minister Modi met President Tinubu on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi.

Visits from India to Nigeria listed in the brief are:

• Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, December 2003, for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit in Abuja
• Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, October 2007, bilateral State Visit
• Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, 26-29 September 2016, bilateral official visit, with meetings with President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi, November 2024, bilateral State Visit

Ministerial visits

Recent ministerial visits from India to Nigeria include that of Shri Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister, on 28-29 May 2023, to attend the swearing-in ceremony of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at Abuja as Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of India. External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar visited Abuja from 21-23 January 2024 for the 6th Joint Commission Meeting.

Nigerian ministers and office holders came to India for several G20 and other meetings in 2023:

• Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Foreign Affairs, March 2023, G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in New Delhi
• Prof. Bolaji Olufunmileyi Owasanoye, Chairman, ICPC, March 2023, 1st G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group Meeting at Gurugram
• Mr. Udi Odum, MoS Environment, 9-10 April 2023, inaugural event of the International Big Cats Alliance (IBCA) at Mysuru, of which Nigeria is a founding member
• Amb. Yusuf Tuggar, Foreign Affairs Minister, 5-10 September 2023, accompanying the President to the G20 Summit
• Mr. Abbas Tajudeen, Speaker, 13-14 October 2023, 9th P20 Summit and G20 Parliamentary Forum, organised by the Parliament of India with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)

Dialogue mechanisms

The first round of India-Nigeria Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) was held in Abuja in December 2003, on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Summit. The 2nd FoC was held in New Delhi on 29 September 2022.

The Joint Commission between the two countries was set up in 1979. As of April 2026, it had met six times:

• 1st meeting, 1981, New Delhi
• 2nd meeting, August 1989, New Delhi
• 3rd meeting, March 2000, Abuja
• 4th meeting, October 2003, New Delhi
• 5th meeting, March 2011, New Delhi
• 6th meeting, January 2024, Abuja

The Joint Trade Committee, the defence and security dialogues and the Consular Dialogue are covered in the other articles of this guide.