Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan visited Nigeria on May 29, 2015. During the official visit, he represented India at the swearing-in ceremony of H. E. Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria. This was a significant event as this is the first time there has been a democratic and peaceful transfer of power in Nigeria which has been internationally praised. Several Heads of States and Governments and senior leaders from around the World attended the event.
Nigeria is the 4th biggest source of crude oil and 2nd biggest source of LNG for India. In the year 2014-15, India imported about 18.2 MMT crude(about 10% of our total crude import) and 5 MMSCMD LNG from Nigeria. Over 100 Indian public & private sector companies are active in Nigeria in various sectors including upstream E&P sector, import of crude and LNG, telecoms, IT, automobile,pharmaceuticals etc.India is Nigeria’s largest trading partner globally; during FY 2013-14, our imports, mainly petroleum and crude products, stood at US$ 14.31 billion
Shri Pradhan handed over a personal invitation from Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to the new President H. E. Muhammadu Buhari to attend 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit to be held in New Delhi on October 29, 2015. Shri Pradhan stressed upon the need of focused and sustained efforts to elevate India-Nigeria energy partnership to a higher plane.
Shri Pradhan was accompanied by High Commissioner of India Shri A. R. Ghanshyam.