India, Nigeria Deepen Strategic Partnership as 200 Indian Firms Employ Nearly 100,000 Nigerians
Oru Leonard
India and Nigeria are strengthening their strategic partnership across key sectors of the economy, with more than 200 Indian companies currently operating in Nigeria and collectively providing direct employment to nearly 100,000 Nigerians.
Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Abishek Singh, disclosed this at a media briefing in Abuja, noting that Indian businesses have become the second-largest employers of labour in Nigeria after the Federal Government.
According to him, Indian companies are increasingly expanding beyond traditional areas of bilateral cooperation into power, manufacturing, construction, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, consumer goods and other services.
Singh said the establishment of local manufacturing plants by Indian companies had significantly deepened economic ties between the two countries, while creating employment and strengthening Nigeria’s industrial capacity.
Bilateral trade has also recorded substantial growth, reaching about $9 billion in the 2025/2026 financial year, compared with $7.13 billion in 2024/2025.
On the healthcare sector, Deputy High Commissioner of India to Nigeria, Vertika Rawat, identified healthcare, food security and capacity building as major areas of cooperation between both countries.
She disclosed that India currently accounts for about 40 per cent of Nigeria’s pharmaceutical imports, with the figure exceeding 90 per cent in some categories of medicines.
Rawat added that Indian companies had invested an estimated $4 billion in Nigeria’s pharmaceutical manufacturing sector, while Indian pharmaceutical exports to Nigeria stood at $315 million in the 2024/2025 financial year.
She also highlighted lessons from India’s sixth National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6), released in May 2026, which covered 639,000 families across 707 districts.
The survey, she said, recorded improvements in maternal and child healthcare, immunisation, healthcare financing and women’s socioeconomic inclusion.
Antenatal care increased to 96 per cent, while institutional deliveries rose to 90.6 per cent. Child stunting also declined from 35.5 per cent to 29.3 per cent.
Similarly, full immunisation among children aged 12 to 23 months increased to 87.1 per cent, while 95.6 per cent of children received vaccines through public health facilities.
Healthcare coverage through insurance and other financing schemes rose from 41 per cent to 60.2 per cent.
Rawat further noted that women’s internet usage had doubled to 64.3 per cent, while about 90 per cent of women now have personal bank accounts.
She said India’s experience with initiatives such as the Ayushman Bharat health insurance programme and the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) training programme could provide useful models for Nigeria as it pursues universal health coverage, skills development and inclusive economic growth.
The Indian diplomat stressed that the growing partnership between the two countries was no longer limited to historical ties and crude oil trade, but was evolving into a broader relationship anchored on investment, industrialisation, technology transfer, healthcare and human capital development.
