India and Nigeria are strengthening their economic ties through increased manufacturing, healthcare investments, and job creation, marking a strategic shift from oil dependence to broader industrial cooperation.
India and Nigeria are deepening a commercial relationship that is increasingly defined by factories, medicines and jobs rather than crude oil alone. Bilateral trade rose 26 per cent to about $9 billion in fiscal 2025-26 from $7.13 billion a year earlier, according to figures cited by the Indian High Commission in Nigeria, as companies on both sides broaden their ties into manufacturing, healthcare, energy, technology and services.
Abishek Singh, India’s high commissioner to Nigeria, said more than 200 Indian companies are now operating in the country and have created almost 100,000 jobs, placing them behind only the Federal Government as employers of Nigerians. That expansion reflects a shift away from a mainly export-led relationship towards local production, with Indian firms setting up or expanding operations in pharmaceuticals, power, construction, consumer goods and healthcare.
Healthcare has become one of the clearest signs of that change. Vertika Rawat, India’s deputy high commissioner to Nigeria, said Indian pharmaceutical exports to Nigeria reached $315 million in 2024-25, accounting for about 40 per cent of Nigeria’s drug imports and more than 90 per cent in some medicine categories. She also put Indian investment in pharmaceutical manufacturing in Nigeria at roughly $4 billion, underscoring a push to make more medicines locally and reduce dependence on imported finished products.
The wider backdrop is a fast-growing Indian drug industry that is reaching further into global markets. Trade data from the World Bank shows India was Nigeria’s largest supplier of pharmaceutical products in 2024, while Indian industry reports say the country’s pharmaceutical exports rose to $30.47 billion in 2024-25, up 9.4 per cent year on year. The sector is seeking further expansion as India positions itself as a major source of affordable medicines for more than 200 markets worldwide.
The economic relationship between the two countries goes back more than six decades and was upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2007. Political exchanges have also intensified, with President Bola Tinubu visiting India for the G20 summit in 2023 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelling to Nigeria in November 2024. India has also supported Nigeria through development assistance, concessional lending and technical training under its Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation programme.
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