Nigeria and the Republic of India have pledged to work more closely to enhance energy security of both countries.
The consensus came on the heels of a visit today in Abuja of the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, His Excellency, Abhay Thakur, to the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, a release by the corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, has said.
The release stated that Dr. Baru who acknowledged the role of Indian companies in Nigeria, called on them to extend their presence to the downstream sector of the Petroleum Industry to leverage on the enormous opportunities there.
He assured the High Commissioner of NNPC’s commitment to further strengthen the existing relations between both countries in the energy sector.
The GMD noted that with the refineries up for repairs, the corporation would need technical assistance from Indian companies.
Speaking earlier, the Indian High Commissioner, His Excellency, Thakur, commended Nigeria for its support to India in the area of energy security, stressing that Nigeria had been contributing significantly to India’s energy needs.
He said India was open to further strengthening its collaboration with Nigeria through regular dialogue and exchange of technical knowhow.
“Specifically, India is already sourcing almost 10% of its energy requirement from Nigeria and we look forward to further strengthening of this cooperation across various sources of energy, not only oil, but also in gas, solar energy and other renewable sources”, he said.
He commended the Hon. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, and the GMD on the successful hosting of the recently concluded Nigerian International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) while assuring of his country’s continued support.