By Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja

Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama has called for stronger ties between Nigeria and India.

It was even as Onyeama said the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a “game changer” that is going to be the largest free trade area in the world.

Onyeama made the call during the 7th Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, India, where he took part in two-panel discussions on “Out of Africa: Leading on Trade and Economic Integration” and “Building the Gates of Globalization : Investment, Infrastructure and Taboos.”

During the panel discussion, Onyeama spoke about the various partnerships for infrastructure development such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and other initiatives with India, the European Union and other African countries, which, according to him, contribute enormously to development.

On the sidelines of the 7th Raisina Dialogue which brought together more than 200 speakers from 90 countries, Onyeama met separately with his host, Minister of External Affairs of India, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and his colleagues from Slovenia and the Philippines to discuss relations bilateral relations between Nigeria. and different countries.

While in India, Onyeama visited one of India’s largest steel and power plants, addressed and inaugurated the Nigeria-India Business Council with impressive attendance from Indian captains of industry and interacted with 30 invited African ambassadors and members of the Nigerian community, including students.

Onyeama further said that the AfCFTA will make it much easier for countries to do business with seamless access to fifty-four markets, which is a huge advantage.

Onyeama said, “Why I say AfCTA is going to be a game changer is because it will make it easier for our political leaders and our Africans to reach out to other African countries. So the outcome or the Consequences will be infrastructure – the Trans-Saharan Highway and the Continental Highway across Africa, fostering connectivity and doing business This will be the natural outcome of removing all the barriers that prevent such connectivity within the continent.

Onyeama spoke about Africa’s role in the world to come in terms of trade, cooperation and partnerships, especially with Africa’s Asian partners and India as a privileged partner.

The Minister, while sharing his thoughts on how India and Africa can work together to foster connectivity and trade, noted that Nigeria and India have a long history of very close cooperation and relations. interpersonal relationships with generations of Indian families living in Nigeria, Nigerian students in India and in military establishments.

“We know each other very well and of course now in a globalized world we can do a lot more. India has a comparative advantage in the health sector. We have seen the role India has played in the COVID outbreak. India has a very strong pharmaceutical sector. Thus, the field of health is an area in which we can do a lot with India. And we have seen the miracle of ICT in Bangalore. Moreover, India’s technological capability is another area where we can cooperate. Nigeria has a very young population that is also getting into ICT and extremely dynamic and the partnership with India could absolutely be a game-changer for us.

Speaking further, Onyeama noted that India is the second largest steel producer in the world, saying “We want to industrialize.”

According to Onyeama, “We have struggled to develop our steel industry in Nigeria. So that’s another area where we can do a lot with India. We already have a framework, even if it is a continental framework of the India-Africa Summit and clearly we are looking to develop a more specific roadmap that responds to the priorities and needs of our country. We can also take an interest in other areas such as the cultural industries. You have Bollywood and we have Nollywood, so we can do a lot of things together.

On post-COVID and in the context of Africans entering the global value chain, Onyeama said, “We want to diversify not only our production, but also our partners. Regarding value chains, it has always been targeted towards Western countries. But clearly Asia is much more important in our engagement and despite today’s global challenges we are moving forward more and more, strengthening our partnership with Asia and of course India is a big part of that. , as does China and one or two other countries. So, despite everything that is happening in the world, we intend to prioritize and move forward.