Nigeria, India to finalise local currency trade settlement system soon

Nigeria and India will soon finalise a system of settling international trade between both countries in local currency following the second annual Joint Trade Committee (JTI) meeting with the permanent secretary of Nigeria’s Industry, trade and Investment ministry, according to a statement from the Indian Ministry of Commerce

The focus of the meeting was on areas of shared interest between both countries, especially bilateral trade and the inherent growth potential.

The statement reads, “To this effect, both sides identified several areas of focus for enhancing both bilateral trade as well as mutually beneficial investments. These include resolving of market access issues of both sides, and cooperation in key sectors such as Crude oil and Natural Gas, Pharmaceuticals, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Local Currency Settlement System, Power Sector and Renewable Energy, Agriculture & Food Processing, Education, Transport, Railway, Aviation, MSMEs, Development etc.”“Both sides agreed to early conclusion of Local Currency Settlement System Agreement to further strengthen bilateral economic ties.”

The officials in the Indian delegation comprise of members of the Reserve Bank of India, EXIM Bank of India and the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI).

What you should know

India is one of Nigeria’s biggest trade partners and according to the National Bureau of Statistic (NBS) foreign trade report for 2023, trade between both countries reached N5.88 trillion in 2023 making her Nigeria’s third largest trade partner for the year.

In recent times, there have been growing calls for decoupling international trade from the USD hegemony and ensuring nations across the world fashion out locally accepted mediums of trade. This movement is particularly spearheaded by the BRICS+ group of nations of which India is a founding member.Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Ministers, Amb. Yussuf Tuggar has disclosed the country’s interest in joining the growing economic bloc in the next two years. After its last meeting in South Africa, BRICS extended membership invitation five more members including two African countries- Egypt and Ethiopia. Many analysts wondered why Africa’s biggest economy was not invited.