By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
Nigeria and India have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral relations.
Trade, consular matters, education and cultural cooperation featured prominently in discussions between the foreign ministers of both countries on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS leaders summit in New Delhi, India.
Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu,
Nigeria Minister of Foreign Affairs held talks with her indian counterpart, Dr. Jaishankar.
Hosted by India, the summit was tagged with the theme “Building Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”.
A statement by the Minister’s Media Aide, Magnus Eze says, the major focus was the welfare of Nigerians residing in India, especially those who have overstayed their visas.
Bianca Ojukwu sought a further extension of the existing amnesty arrangement to enable affected Nigerians to return home voluntarily without penalties.
The ministers also discussed a possible bilateral memorandum of understanding on the transfer of sentenced persons to provide a framework for the humane transfer of eligible prisoners between both countries.
On economic relations, both sides explored opportunities to expand trade and investment, and agreed to deepen mutually beneficial economic partnerships.
Both sides also identified education and cultural exchanges as key areas to strengthen people-to-people ties.
The statement concluded that the meeting is part of Nigeria’s efforts to leverage its participation in the BRICS platform to advance bilateral partnerships and promote stronger South-South cooperation.
