Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Nagabhushana Reddy, said on Friday that the bilateral trade between India and Nigeria would be strengthened through the India-West Africa Regional Conclave.
Reddy said this during a press conference on the India-West Africa Regional Conclave scheduled to be held in Abuja from October 8 to 9. The conference is being organised by the India High Commission in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Nigeria Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) and Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI).
According to the envoy the conclave will serve as platform for dialogue between India and the 15 West African countries. Reddy said: "This is part of our larger engagement to support governments on the provision of business platforms with different stakeholders. It is in this context that the second edition of the regional conclave will hold in Abuja; we are looking forward to government to government level of business engagement. I hope the conclave will draw a new era of engagement between our country and West African countries with Nigeria at the centre. Nigeria is the largest trading partner of India and vice versa the biggest in Africa. So, we are very hopeful these engagement will bring about the much desired promotion in terms of more Indian technology investment, generation of employment, which will benefit India and Africa."
The Regional Director of CII, Balakrishan Rajesh, said that the conclave is important for both countries to create platform for business people to meet and interact. He added that Abuja was chosen as a venue because India has identified Nigeria as preferred country for its trade with energy-rich West Africa in line with the country's diversification policy. He also mentioned Cote d' Ivoire and Ghana as other countries in the region that were listed in India's policy of diversifying its energy sources.
According to Rajesh, the conclave is structured into thematic sessions focused on major areas of India-West Africa economic partnership. "This includes sustainable financing, infrastructure and green energy, agriculture and agro-processing and services (education, health and IT)," Rajesh said.
Over 200 delegates across 15 African countries,70 business representative from India and 20 chief executives officers are expected to participate in the event.
Adeshina Emmanuel, Director of Investment Promotion of NIPC, said that the conclave initiative would be apt for sustainable partnership between India and Nigeria. According to him, it will encourage private sector operators and key financial institutions to identify priority areas and special projects for Indian investment and partnership with long terms commitment to West Africa.
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