During the visit, MoS V Muraleedharan will attend the meeting of the Nigeria-India Business Council (NIBC)

Minister of State for External and Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan will visit Nigeria next week to address the Nigeria-India Business Council (NIBC) meeting and hold bilateral talks.

During the two-day visit to Abuja on August 22-23, MoS Muraleedharan will call on Nigerian President Muhammad Buhari. He will meet Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama and Defence Minister Major General (Retd) Bashir Magashi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, announcing the visit on Thursday.

In Nigerian capital Abuja, MoS Muraleedharan will also address the Nigeria-India Business Council (NIBC) meeting together with Vice-President of Nigeria Yemi Osinbajo. NIBC was formally launched by Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama during his visit to India in April 2022 for the Raisina Dialogue 2022.

Additionally, he will connect with a cross-section of members of the Indian diaspora.

India-Nigeria have always enjoyed close and friendly relations which are deep-rooted and multifaceted. The bilateral trade has been growing steadily and registered a record US$ 14.95 billion in 2021-22. During the Covid-19 pandemic, both countries have maintained close contacts and supported each other in their fight against the pandemic.

According to the MEA, MoS Muraleedharan's visit will further the momentum of high level exchanges and stengthen cooperation with Nigeria, bilaterally and in the multilateral fora. He had earlier visited Nigeria in June 2019 to participate in the celebrations of Democracy Day hosted by Nigeria.