Arvind Tiwari’s report

Abuja – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Nigeria’s capital Abuja early this morning on the invitation of Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the first leg of his three-nation visit. During this, he was warmly welcomed at Abuja Airport. Upon PM Modi’s arrival here, Federal Capital Territory Minister Nsom Ezenwo Wike warmly welcomed PM Modi and symbolically presented him the ‘keys to the city’ of Abuja as a symbol of trust and respect. The Indian expatriates present here welcomed the Indian Prime Minister with drums and drums, raising slogans of Modi-Modi as well as Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Vande Mataram, girls presented cultural dances. PM Modi accepted the greetings of the people of the Indian community. People of the Indian community dressed in traditional clothes held the tricolor in their hands, during which some people also took the autograph of PM Modi. Ramesh Malik, a member of the Indian expatriate community who came to welcome PM Modi, said that after so many years an Indian Prime Minister has come to Nigeria. We have high expectations from Prime Minister Modi, because India-Nigeria relations need to be improved. We hope that his visit will yield some meaningful results. Ritu Aggarwal, another member of the Indian diaspora, said – PM Modi said that my drawing is very good and he took a pen from me and signed his picture. After reaching Nigeria, PM Modi thanked President Tinubu on social media and said that he had come to Nigeria some time ago. Thanks for the warm welcome. My aim of this visit is to strengthen the bilateral friendship between our countries. It is heart-touching to be welcomed so warmly by the Indian community in Nigeria.  Another big achievement has been registered in the name of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PM Modi, who is on a visit to the African country Nigeria, has been honored by Nigeria with its award – The Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger. Before this, only Queen Elizabeth had received this honour, hence PM Modi is the second foreign leader to receive this honour. The Queen of Britain was given this award in the year 1969. This is the seventeenth international award given to Prime Minister Modi by any country. After receiving the award, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that I express my heartfelt gratitude to you, the government of Nigeria and the people of Nigeria for the national award of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger. I accept this honor with humility and respect. I dedicate this honor to one hundred and forty crore Indians and the deep friendship between India and Nigeria. Let us tell you that PM Modi has reached Nigeria, a Muslim country in West Africa. An Indian Prime Minister is visiting Nigeria after seventeen years, before which former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had visited Nigeria in 2007. As part of the important objective of his foreign visit, PM Modi will today discuss further strengthening India-Nigeria bilateral relations. In this meeting, both the leaders will discuss to further strengthen bilateral relations, especially in the areas of trade and investment. There is a possibility of promoting partnership between the two countries in energy, health, agriculture and digital sectors. After this the Prime Minister will also address the people of the Indian community in the capital Abuja. This visit of PM Modi will run from 16 November to 21 November. During this time, apart from Nigeria, he will also visit Brazil and Guyana. After Nigeria, PM Modi will reach Brazil where he will attend the nineteenth G-20 leaders’ summit and after that he will reach Guyana. It is noteworthy that this is the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to a South American country after five decades. It is believed that Nigeria, one of the economically prosperous African countries, and India are quite friendly. This visit of PM Modi can usher in a new era of economic and military cooperation between the two countries.

Strategic partnership with Nigeria is our top priority – Prime Minister Modi

Before the delegation-level talks, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and local President Tinubu held a one-on-one meeting at Rashtrapati Bhavan. During this, the Prime Minister was also formally welcomed for the first time. In this meeting, Prime Minister Modi said that we give the highest priority to our strategic partnership with Nigeria. He said that we have strong cooperation in many areas like defence, energy, financial issues, technology, health, education and culture. There are many new possibilities associated with our relations which will work towards enhancing relations in many areas including defence, energy and trade. In his inaugural speech during the meeting in Abuja, PM Modi talked about terrorism, separatism, piracy and drug trafficking. identified as key challenges andSaid that both the countries will continue to work together to deal with these. The Prime Minister said – We give high priority to our strategic partnership with Nigeria, I am confident that after our talks, a new chapter in our relations will begin. Modi described the Indian expatriate community, numbering around sixty thousand, as a key pillar of India-Nigeria relations and thanked President Tinubu for ensuring their welfare. The Prime Minister also announced that India is sending twenty tons of relief material to the Nigerian people affected by the floods last month. He also mentioned the African Union becoming a permanent member of the G-20 at the G-20 summit hosted by India last year and called it an important outcome.