*Harps on the Prospects of Nigeria-India Joint Commission and Other Areas of Relationship with the Asian Giant.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb Gabriel Tanimu Aduda accompanied by His Excellency , Ambassador Ahmed Sule, High Commissioner of Nigeria to India with concurrent accreditations to Bangladesh, Srilanka and Nepal met with the Minister of State for External Affairs, Government of India , Shri. V. Muraleedharan ,on 16 March, 2022 in New Delhi , India .
At the meeting they discussed issues of bilateral relations, particularly the Nigeria /India Joint Commission which Nigeria is expected to host the next around of talks. Also discussed was the Second Nigeria/ India Consular Dialogue proposed to hold in the second quarter of 2022 in Abuja.
Amb Aduda extolled the efforts of the Indian government towards considering one-time Amnesty to Nigerian Citizens who have overstayed in the country, so as to allow for their return home to Nigeria .
The Minister of State for External Affairs Government of India, Hon Muraleedharan also informed that India is looking forward to participating at the National Security Adviser’s meeting proposed to take place in July 2022 in Abuja. The Minister expressed optimism that the meeting will be a platform to finalize the outstanding MOUs between Nigeria and India for the mutual benefit of both countries.
The Permanent Secretary had earlier in the day taken a tour of the chancery, the residence and staff quarters, after which he met with the officers of the High Commission of Nigeria at the chancery, during which he had a heart-to-heart interaction with the staff on official matters, amongst other issues.
Amb. Aduda expressed satisfaction with the ongoing transformation in the Mission and appreciated the visionary leadership of the High Commissioner, Amb. Ahmed Sule .
The Permanent Secretary was in india as part of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation delegation to monitor and supervise first hand the ongoing IPPIS Human Resource physical Verification Exercise being conducted by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation for the Heads of Mission and officers in the Asian Region.
The exercise is expected to be concluded on Thursday, 17 March 2022.