India has set up an apparel training centre in Nigeria to support the textiles industry of the West African country. This is a first of its kind centre in Nigeria set up in partnership with its government, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said in a statement. It was inaugurated on June 22. The centre has been established in Kaduna, Nigeria under the Cotton Technical Assistance Programme for Africa which is being implemented by the Indian Department of Commerce.
"The center is aimed to support and catalyze the initiative of Nigeria in realising the objectives to rebuild the cotton and textile value chain and address the need for skilled workforce for domestic as well export-oriented apparel industry in the west African region," the statement added. Nigeria is an important trading partner of India. The bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $12.17 billion in 2015-16 as against $16.36 billion in the previous fiscal. Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer, and its major export to India is crude. There are over 100 Indian companies present in Nigeria mainly in telecom, hydrocarbons, textiles, chemicals, electrical equipment, pharmaceuticals, plastics, IT and autos sectors.
India's exports to that country includes machinery and instruments, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, transport equipment and electronic goods. The major items of import are petroleum, crude, non-ferrous metals, wood and wood products, cashew nuts.
