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An exhibition cum business forum will be held in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, by the end of this year in which almost 400 leading Indian companies and business players are likely to participate.
The exhibition and forum are being organised by industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI) with its Nigerian counterpart.
A senior director of the FICCI Sheila Sudharan said the event would strengthen bilateral partnership in varied sectors such as automotive, pharmaceutical, health care, education, energy, agriculture and agricultural processing.
She said, "We want to take advantage of the business opportunities offered by Nigeria," she said.
In the fiscal year 2008, India-Nigeria bilateral trade stood at $13 billion marking an increase of about $5 billion over that of 2007.
Trade between the two countries has so far been dominated by crude oil imports from Nigeria and exports of information technology accessories, auto and machinery from India.
According to the head of the Indian Chancery in Lagos Raj Kumar, India has pledged to support Nigerian agriculture by offering machinery and personnel. Kumar also said ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), is likely to get back two highly prospective deep-water oil blocks in Nigeria, which now are caught in litigation.
The Indian company Indorama Group became a key investor in Nigeria’s Eleme Petrochemical Company Ltd (EPCL) in 2005. The company is now hoping to make the complex the petrochemical hub of Africa to cater to the growing demand for plastics in the region. About 30,000 Indians live in Nigeria and are engaged in trading and manufacturing. Business Standard
May 27, 2009
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