By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Doris Uzoka-Anite, has assured Nigerians that doing business with India is the best thing to do because it would lead to prosperity.
She said this at the G 20 Summit concluding today, Sunday, September 10, 2023, in New Delhi, the Indian capital.
The Minister travelled to the South Asian nation alongside President Bola Tinubu and others to attract more foreign direct investments (FDIs) into the country.
In a statement issued at the weekend by her media aide, Mr Oladapo Sofowora, the Minister described India as Nigeria’s old friend, noting that the bilateral relationship has dated back over 70 years, with both nations maintaining cordial relationships in trade investment and technology exchange.
“Since that historic September 1962 visit, hosted by Tafawa Balewa, the first (and only) PM of Nigeria, in Lagos, Nigerian and Indian leaders presided over a bilateral relationship that has grown in leaps and bounds.
“In my time here in India, I have seen how much of a thing of pride these feats have been for the Indian people. Successes of this nature are especially significant because they rekindle national hope and optimism, and fuel the collective ambition to achieve even more,” she said.
Speaking further, the Minister said, “Our trip here has so far been fruitful and Nigerians should be proud of our achievement here.
“We signed an agreement on Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria Limited (InfraCorp) and Invest India. We also signed another agreement between the Nigerian Ministry of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy and the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
“We have also secured investment commitments from multinationals like; SkipperSeil Group, Jindal Steel and Power Limited, Bharti Enterprises, Indorama Petrochemical Limited amounting to several billions of dollars.”
Mrs Uzoka-Anite disclosed that Nigeria needs to fastrack the signing of the Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (IPPA), and the Economic Cooperation Agreement (ECA), with India.
“Joining the G20, as Africa’s largest economy and most populous country, will no doubt position Nigeria to benefit from even more favourable trade and economic ties with India and other leading world economies.
“This visit will mark the beginning of a new vista for Nigeria-India relations, under the leadership of President Tinubu and PM Modi. There are indeed no limits to what we can achieve, for the mutual benefit of Nigerians. We are surely on the path of prosperity,” the Minister stressed.
Adedapo Adesanya 
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