The Indian Government has reiterated its commitment to strengthen partnership with Nigeria by improving business environment and other areas between both countries.
India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, disclosed this at the Nigeria-India Business Forum in Abuja.
The Minister said that there was the need for stakeholders to work closely together towards improving India-Nigeria businesses relationship.
“We have to find various ways of improving the business climate; there are some banking charges; there could be payment issues; there could be some travel visas. The CII and all businesses can help to solve problems faced by Nigerian partners in India and they would in-turn open more doors to us in Nigeria.
“We will continue to ease the operation system, motivate business against whatever obstacles and facilitate new opportunities. We could harness business opportunities; an example was in the energy sector, it could be in digital field, green energy and agriculture.The Nigerian-Indian community relationship has played important role in building our relationship and shaping our image,’’ he said
Also speaking, the Director-General, Confederation of India Industry, (CII), Chandrajit Banerjee, said the CII business delegation forum will strengthen economic cooperation; explore business and economic opportunities between India and Nigeria.
“Over 135 Indian companies are currently operating in Nigeria, with Indian owned/operated companies estimated to be the second largest employer. India is Nigeria’s leading investor; it is informally estimated that there are 19.3 billion dollars of investment by Indian companies in the country and is home to a large Indian community numbering around 50,000. We have representatives from Energy, Pharmacy, ICT, Financial Institutions, Infrastructure and defense. I looked forward to a strong participation from Nigeria,” he said.
For his part, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, represented by a Director of the Ministry, Ambassador Bolaji Aderemilade, noted that the ministry has the opportunity to oversee any aspects of Nigeria’s foreign relations.
“NIBC should be made event centric, have a very broad based structure that can carry such a strong organisation, collaborate instead of competing. The ministry of Foreign Affairs and Industry Trade and investment collaborate deeply.
“As you know we have missions in over 114 centers of the world and this gives us the opportunity to oversee any aspects of Nigeria’s foreign relations including trade commerce and investment. We only represent. In terms of trade, we are also traders as much as we are foreign policy analyst. We must know that the essence of this collaboration is to assist government. The ministry will continue to support you in any possible,” he said
According to the President, the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr. Dele Oye, the bilateral trade between the two countries has been the cornerstone of the relationship, hence NACCIMA is ready to collaborate with NIBC, to ensure the business environment thrive smoothly.
The Forum is a platform designed to bring together business community across India and Nigeria, build the existing strong platform for private and public sectors from both countries to explore business and investment opportunities and translate to the concrete project.
The forum with the theme “Expanding Trade and Investment Opportunities Between Nigeria and India” was oganised by NIBC in collaboration with Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA).
Hauwa Abu
