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Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (Economic Relations) Dammu Ravi on Sunday said that there is a strong commitment from leaders of India and Nigeria to deepen their understanding of development issues that are crucial to the Global South.
The remarks by Ravi came during a special briefing on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Nigeria. He said that India being a strong partner of the G20 and with Nigeria being a key player in the African Union, both countries are well-positioned to take the agenda of development of the Global South to the centre of global discourse. "In the context of Global South, there is a very strong commitment from both leaders to deepen this understanding on the agenda of development which is very dear to the Global South, is taken forward and the global discourse is built on it. India and Nigeria are well-positioned to play that role. India is a strong partner of the G20 and now even the African Union is a member of it. Nigeria is a very strong country within the AU and is also invited to the G20. Ravi added, "Also, given that Nigeria has become a partner country in the BRICS, in different ways, both India and Nigeria can take up the agenda of development and put it in the centre of global discourse... On the development issue, we talked about the sharing of experiences between the two countries. Nigeria also actively participated in the Voice of Global South Summit... In the digital and renewable energy space, there is a lot of scope for the two countries to achieve." Notably, PM Modi is on a State Visit to Nigeria from November 17-18. On Sunday, he held official talks with the President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja. In a statement, the MEA said, "The two leaders also discussed global and regional issues. President Tinubu acknowledged India's efforts to amplify the concerns of developing countries through the Voice of the Global South Summits. The two leaders agreed to work together to meet the development aspirations of the Global South. Prime Minister appreciated the role played by Nigeria as the Chair of ECOWAS and its contribution to multilateral and plurilateral bodies. Alluding to Nigeria's membership of the International Solar Alliance and the International Big Cat Alliance, Prime Minister invited President Tinubu to join other pro-planet green initiatives launched by India." Notably, the visit by PM Modi is the first by a Prime Minister of India to Nigeria in 17 years. PM Modi is on a three-nation tour to Nigeria, Brazil and Guyana scheduled from November 17 to November 21. Earlier in the day, PM Modi held a "very productive discussion" with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Sunday to add "momentum" to the strategic partnership between the two countries. The PM highlighted that there is "immense scope" for the ties to be strengthened in various sectors like defence, technology, health and more. "Had a very productive discussion with President Tinubu. We talked about adding momentum to our strategic partnership. There is immense scope for ties to flourish even further in sectors like defence, energy, technology, trade, health, education and more," PM Modi said in a post on X. (ANI)
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