By Linus Aleke, Abuja
Nigeria and India have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in the renewable energy sector.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador, Amb. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, in a statement signed by his media aide, Mr. Alkasim Abdulkadir,
said, the MoU was signed at the sideline of the 6th Nigeria-Indian Joint Commission, in Abuja.
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He noted that the agreement seeks to focus on development of new and renewable energy technologies like Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Biomass/ Bio-energy, Small Hydro and Capacity building.
The Minister further disclosed that the bilateral meeting covered a wide range of sectors from Political, Culture, Aviation, Trade and Investment, Developmental Partnership, Defence and Security Cooperation to Consular Matters and Regional issues and Multilateral Cooperation
Before the signing of the new agreement, the Minister said that the Minister of External Affairs of India, Jaishankar, visited Lagos where he held productive meetings with the India-Nigeria Business Forum and also addressed the Nigerian Institute Of International Affairs (NIIA) in Lagos on India and the Global South.
He said: “We had very fruitful deliberations at the 6th joint commission between Nigeria and India, several issues were discussed as regards different sectors ranging from economy, trade, consular issues, culture and aviation. I have to say that the meeting was very fruitful and rich. You know that Nigeria and India have a lot in common, we are two largest democracies on the continent of Africa and Asia, we are the most populous and we have a strong bond and we have been friends for a long time, our relationship will continue to grow stronger,” the Minister said.
The Minister of External Affairs of India, Jaishankar, said, “India and Nigeria share a long-standing and friendly relationship which is rooted in history.
“We are the largest democracies of the world and are the leaders in our continents. In recent years, this has been renewed by contacts between our leaderships,” he said.
The Minister also noted that India is one of the top economic partners of Nigeria, with investments estimated at about 27 billion US Dollars and an annual trade turnover estimated at between 13-15 Billion US Dollars.
