Posted by Akin Olukunle, Mumbai on
Nigeria's Ambassador to India, Mr. Garba Abdullahi, said on Wednesday, that the bilateral trade between Nigeria and India in the last three years, stood at over $3 billion.
Nigeria's Ambassador to India, Mr. Garba Abdullahi, said on Wednesday, that the bilateral trade between Nigeria and India in the last three years, stood at over $3 billion.
Abdullahi, who spoke at ceremony to mark the inaugural flight of Bellview Airlines on the Mumbai-Lagos route in Mumbai, India, said the Federal Government's emphasis on economic diplomacy would receive a big boost with the return of the Nigeria's carrier on the route. Bellview had resumed operations on the route after a break of five years and three months.
The ambassador observed that the level of bilateral trade betwwen India and Nigeria, was on the increase, adding that it was in furtherance of the course that his office ensured that the return of Bellview to the Lagos-Mumbai route came to fruition.
Abdullahi noted that Nigeria was currently the Asian country's number one largest trading partner in Africa.
He said, 'A few years ago, Nigeria was India's fifth largest trading partner in Africa, ranking after South Africa, Mauritius, Egypt and Kenya.
The choice of Mumbai as Bellview's preferred destination in India is not misplaced. Mumbai is India's commercial capital. It is to India what Lagos is to Nigeria."
With the renegotiation of the Bilateral Air Service Agreement between Nigeria and India tentatively slated for the last week of July, 2005, Abdullahi opined that "not only will each side have the right to a second carrier, but the frequency and the number of passenger per flight will be increased."
Abdullahi said the Nigeria's embassy in India receives between 300 and 400 applications for Nigerian visas every week.
He said every application is processed within 48 hours, taking into consideration what interest the visit of the applicant would serve Nigeria.
Mallam Adamu Modu, who represented the Minister of Aviation, Mallam Isa Yuguda, at the occasion, described the latest operation by Bellview as a "watershed in the history of Nigeria's aviation."
Yuguda said the government reposes confidence in all Nigeria's registered airlines like the new national flag carrier, Virgin Nigeria.
The minister lamented the rising cost of operations and maintenance by the airlines, which he said collect their fares in naira and carry out maintenance/repairs abroad in dollars and other foreign currencies.
"They (airlines)are all the nation's flag carriers. We all love them.We will do our best to ensure a level playing field for all of them," he added.
The Punch, Friday, June 24, 2005