Tinubu invited to attend 2026 India-Africa summit in New Delhi
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been invited by the Government of India to attend the 2026 India-Africa Summit scheduled to hold in New Delhi. The Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria,
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been invited by the Government of India to attend the 2026 India-Africa Summit scheduled to hold in New Delhi.
The Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Abhishek Singh, disclosed this on Thursday during a media briefing, stating that the summit would serve as a platform to deepen trade, cultural and strategic relations between India and African countries.
Singh said the fourth edition of the India-Africa Summit is slated for May 31 and will bring together African leaders, ministers, business executives and cultural stakeholders.
According to him, both India and African nations are seeking to strengthen cooperation and revive high-level engagements after a decade-long pause in the summit process.
The envoy further revealed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had formally invited President Tinubu to lead Nigeria’s delegation to the summit.
“We would be truly honoured to have the participation of His Excellency, the President,” he said.
“This will provide a platform to discuss several issues pertaining to security, political dialogue, economic and trade relations, developmental partnership, people-to-people exchanges and cultural exchanges,” the envoy said.
Singh described Nigeria as central to India’s engagement with Africa, citing its democratic credentials and economic influence on the continent.
“Nigeria is Africa’s largest democracy and one of the largest economies in Africa. We are looking at Nigeria as being emblematic of India’s Africa relationship,” he said.
According to him, the summit activities will begin with a senior officials’ meeting on May 28, followed by a foreign ministers’ meeting on May 29, before the main summit on May 31.
He added that business forums, music and dance festivals, and Track Two diplomatic engagements would accompany the summit to broaden cooperation beyond government-to-government relations.
“One of them is the economic dialogue where we have invited Nigerian businessmen, industrialists and chambers to participate and redefine how they look at our engagement,” Singh said.
On economic relations, the envoy said bilateral trade between India and Nigeria currently stands between $8 billion and $9 billion annually, while both countries continue discussions on market access and trade barriers.
Read Also: Nigeria’s mining sector attracts $2.6billion FDI
“We are doing fairly well, giving some room for improvement because there is immense potential,” he noted.
Singh also stressed the growing influence of Nigerian culture in India, particularly Afrobeat music.
“The Afrobeats are becoming increasingly popular in India, and names like Wizkid and Davido are not names which are popular only in Nigeria, but they are global icons and very popular in India as well,” he added.
He further highlighted India’s interest in expanding collaboration with Nigeria in information and communications technology, digital infrastructure and education.
“India is globally known to be a very strong power of information technology and ICT, and we look forward to more and more collaborations with partner countries like Nigeria in this sector,” the High Commissioner said.
The envoy noted that the forum was last held in 2015 and is returning at a time when both India and Africa have witnessed significant political and economic transformations.
“As I mentioned, this is the fourth edition of the India-Africa Forum Summit, and it is happening after a hiatus of 10 years,” Singh stated.
