Prime Minister Narendra Modi was awarded the country’s second highest honor ‘The Grand Commander of the Order of Niger’ by Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Key Points
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi was awarded Nigeria’s second highest national honor ‘The Grand Commander of the Order of Niger’. Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu honored him.
- Earlier in 1969, Queen Elizabeth of Britain was awarded this honor.
- PM Modi dedicated this honor to 140 crore Indians and India-Nigeria friendship. He expressed gratitude to the Nigerian government and people.
- Prime Minister Modi held a meeting with the Nigerian President at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
- Discussions were held on further strengthening bilateral relations.
- PM Modi described the more than 60,000 Indians living in Nigeria as a strong link between the two countries.
- He thanked Nigeria for taking care of the Indian community.
- After the felicitation ceremony, PM Modi addressed the Indian diaspora.
Order of Niger
- The Order of the Niger (OON) was established in 1963 as Nigeria’s second highest national award. It is junior to the country’s highest Order of the Federal Republic.
The visit to Nigeria is important for India because:
- First visit: India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru visited Nigeria in 1962.
- Strategic partnership: During the tenure of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, India-Nigeria relations were elevated to ‘strategic partnership’.
- Energy importance: Nigeria’s vast oil and gas reserves meet India’s energy needs.
- Growing trade relations: Trade between the two countries was Rs 2 lakh crore in 2023-24.
- Indian community: There are about 60,000 Indians in Nigeria, which is the largest center of Indian immigrants in West Africa.
- Growing investment sectors: India’s investment in Africa is growing, especially in energy, mining, pharmaceuticals and information technology.
Declining trade between India and Nigeria
- Trade in 2023-24: Trade between India and Nigeria stood at $ 7.89 billion in the financial year 2023-24.
- Previous year (2022-23): This trade was $ 11.8 billion.
- Trade in 2021-22: Trade between the two countries reached $ 15 billion.
- Decline: Trade has declined by about 47% in the last two years.
- Trade in 2020-21: Trade between India and Nigeria was $8.80 billion, an increase of 66% the next year.
About Nigeria
Location: Nigeria is located on the west coast of Africa and is called the “Giant of Africa”.
Boundaries
- North: Niger
- East: Chad and Cameroon
- South: Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic Ocean)
- West: Benin
- Independence: Nigeria gained independence from Britain in 1960.
- Area: Nigeria has an area of about 2.4 million square kilometers.
- Population: Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa.
- Capital: Abuja
- Language: English is the official language, but local languages like Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and Ijaw are also spoken here.
Currency: Naira (NGN)
- President: The current President of Nigeria is Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu (H.E. Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu).
- Geographic Diversity: Nigeria has a variety of climates, ranging from arid to humid tropical.
Hydrodevelopment
- Major Basins: Niger-Beni, Lake Chad, and Gulf of Guinea
- Major Rivers: Niger River (from which the country gets its name) and its largest tributary, the Beni River.
- Mountain Range: Cameron Highlands.
- Natural Resources: Nigeria has vast petroleum and natural gas reserves.