Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh attended Nigeria’s President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s swearing-in ceremony in Abuja on 29 May 2023. In addition to senior officials from the Ministry of Defence, Raksha Mantri’s delegation to Nigeria included senior executives from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL). These executives held a series of meetings with Nigerian military and government representatives to identify their requirements which can be met by Indian defense companies. B-to-B meetings were held with Nigerian companies to strengthen cooperation.
In addition to high-level political representation from countries across the African continent, including several heads of state, India was among the select non-African nations represented in the ministerial-level “swearing-in ceremony”, demonstrating the high priority and strength of our bilateral relations with Nigeria.
Shri Rajnath Singh also had a brief meeting with the Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperative of Bangladesh, Md Tazul Islam, also in Abuja to participate in the swearing-in ceremony. The meeting was a testament to the good nature between India and Bangladesh and the two leaders expressed their respective government’s commitment to further expanding and strengthening bilateral ties.