Indian high commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Abhay Thakur, has said that Nigeria and India are set to sign a Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) before the end of January.
Speaking with newsmen at an event to commemorate the World Hindi Day and Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Abuja, the diplomat said the agreement would enable direct flights between the two countries.
He said the BASA is part of pending agreements to be signed between both countries.
He said the agreement will be signed when the minister of state for aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika visits India.
“We look forward to signing an air services agreement between India and Nigeria next week, during the visit of honourable minister of state for aviation to India.
“A look at the air transportation services indicates that there are about four indirect flights between India and Nigeria daily, via Dubai, Ethiopia. So, there is a huge opportunity herein and it is something that needs to be addressed urgently.
“We hope that with the growth of Nigeria’s aviation sector, we would be able to find (Nigerian) partners immediately after the signing of the aviation services agreement either on their own or on a co-shared basis to operationalise the agreement and commence direct flights, said Thakur.
He also said both countries would conclude negotiations on the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement by the end of January adding that the agreements would boost trade and investment cooperation between them.
Thakur said he would focus on strengthening the development partnership between both countries by identifying projects that could access funds made available by the Indian government for Africa.
“We are looking forward to greater development assistance through some very useful and successful India development cooperation models.
“Particularly, soft line credit, which enables Nigeria to access India loan facility at a concessional rate of 1.75 per cent.
“We need to work harder, identify projects within ICT, naval requirements, in railways, and pharmaceutical among others.
“We need to work and operationalise through a high level of cost arrangement between the two governments to enable this development funding to be utilized,” he said.
He further expressed optimism in the contributions of Indian companies to the development of both economies.
“Indian companies are the highest foreign employers of labour in Nigeria. We hope to expand in that direction as much as possible,” he added.
On Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the high commissioner said it is a day celebrated to strengthen the engagement of the overseas Indian community with the government of India and reconnect them with their roots.
He said the day represents the return of freedom movement leader, Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa, whom he described as the first Indian in Diaspora.
He said about 50,000 Indians are currently living in Nigeria and commended Indians globally for remitting about $70 billion dollars annually to India.
