(Ecofin Agency) - Trade volumes between Nigeria and India dropped $16 billion in 2015 to $12 billion in 2016, due to the fall in oil prices. This was declared by Kaiser Alam, India’s Acting High Commissioner, at a reception to mark the 68th Republic Day of India in Abuja on Thursday.

According to him, 2016 was a significant year and both countries are looking to expand relations in all areas. “The decrease was because of the change in oil prices; we were importing the same amount but the oil prices came down. Above all, our trade was the same and the trade surplus was in favour of Nigeria,” he said.

Alam noted that Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture is to visit India in March and he hopes the ministry will use the visit to discuss further cooperation and implement ideas. “We want a holistic approach to our relations so we can increase our cooperation; we have a defense cooperation that is very robust. In bilateral relations, there is always room for improvement that is why our leaders visit to expand relations,” he said.

He added that in line with an agreement signed by both countries in 2014, India had released a Line of Credit (LoC) of $100 million for power projects in Lagos, Kaduna and Enugu States.

Nigeria is India’s largest trading partner in Africa and India is the largest trading partner of Nigeria globally. In recent years, Nigeria has been one of the main sources of crude for India.

Anita Fatunji