BRUSSELS — Nigeria and India have pledged to deepen bilateral cooperation on customs operations, trade facilitation, and anti-smuggling initiatives following high-level discussions at the 91st Session of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Policy Commission, held in Brussels, Belgium.
The strategic dialogue took place on the sidelines of the global customs meeting, where Nigeria’s Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Adewale Adeniyi, met with his Indian counterpart, Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Sanjay Kumar Agarwal. Both officials expressed strong commitment to strengthening mutual collaboration, particularly in intelligence sharing, capacity development, and harmonization of border control strategies.
Adeniyi, who led the Nigerian delegation to the WCO session, emphasized the importance of forging international alliances in tackling transnational crimes such as smuggling, customs fraud, and trafficking in prohibited goods. He noted that India and Nigeria, as leading economies in their respective regions, share common challenges in customs management and could greatly benefit from enhanced bilateral coordination.
“Our discussion with India signals a renewed partnership focused on modernizing customs procedures, fostering digital innovation, and ensuring more secure and efficient trade flows between our nations,” Adeniyi stated after the meeting.
On his part, Agarwal welcomed the opportunity to work more closely with the Nigeria Customs Service, commending Nigeria’s recent reforms in risk management systems and border automation. He also proposed knowledge exchange programmes that would allow officers from both countries to benefit from training in emerging customs technologies.
The WCO Policy Commission session, which convened customs chiefs from across the globe, focused on enhancing customs modernization, global trade resilience, and coordinated border management. Nigeria’s participation in the session aligns with its ongoing reforms aimed at repositioning the Nigeria Customs Service to support economic growth and regional integration.
The collaboration with India is expected to result in a framework for sustained technical assistance, joint enforcement operations, and harmonized trade data systems in the near future.
