Nigeria-India Trade
Volume Hits 10 Billion Dollars
The
Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mr Anand Sharma, has
said bilateral trade between Nigeria and India has hit the 10
billion dollars mark.
Speaking in Lagos at the maiden edition of the India/West Africa
Business Forum, ’’NAMASKAR Africa Exhibition 2010,’’ he
said that Nigeria has become India's largest trading partner in
Africa.
The Minister said that Nigeria was an important source of
India's crude imports and its energy security and that the
partnership between the two countries had been improving
steadily because they both had multi-cultural and many other
similarities.
Areas of advantage
Sharma said that Indian investors would further expand the
partnership by seeking more investment opportunities in Nigeria
and other ECOWAS countries.
The minister said that India had comparative advantage in
mining, Information and Communication Technology,
pharmaceuticals, automotive and automobiles, urging ECOWAS
governments and investors in Nigeria to tap into these sectors.
Opportunities in Nigeria
Nigeria was represented at the exhibition by Lagos State
Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, who urged Indian investors to
take advantage of the numerous investment opportunities in
Nigeria.
He assured the investors that the Nigerian government was
prepared to create a favourable environment for their
investments.
The Nigerian Minister of Commerce and Industry, Chief Achike
Udenwa, said that the forum was a unique opportunity for the
West African countries and India to enhance their trade and
economic relations. He called for increased trade and economic
cooperation between Third World countries, saying that such
collaboration would enable them to improve the living standards
of their people.
’’Trade is an indispensible engine for economic growth. West
African countries must also become aware of the pivotal role
which external trade plays in facilitating national
development…This is because trade can positively contribute to
employment, income generation and wealth creation, thus lifting
millions of our people out of poverty,’’ he added.
The minister expressed Nigeria’s willingness to collaborate with
other members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), to ensure a
balanced and transparent multilateral system.
The three-day exhibition, organised by the Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the ECOWAS
Commission, to enhance the trade relations between Nigeria and
India, ends on Saturday.
NAN/Yinka
