Nigeria calls for investment in IT, telcom

Nigeria, India's largest trading partner in Africa, on Wednesday invited Indian companies to invest substantially in the oil-rich country and promised all necessary help and good business environment.

"We are providing all assistance to overseas investors by minimising the regulatory impediments and streamlining the financial system of the country," Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo said at a meeting jointly organised by industry bodies, federation of Indian chambers of commerce and industry and confederation of Indian industry.

Calling for large scale investment in the country in sectors where business is 'booming', the president said the country has now emerged as a promising place in the continent by contributing 60 per cent of the GDP of west Africa. The sectors that require special attention by investors are infrastructure, information technology and telecom, he said.

"The aim of the ongoing reform in the country is to maximise the investor confidence and everything is being done to make the social security system work and to uphold the fundamental rights in Nigeria," Obasanjo said.

Earlier, Nigerian foreign minister Olu Adeniji said that following the successful transition of the nation from a "pariah state" to a developed economy, it was looking forward to continued political stability and economic growth.

Currently, the annual turnover of trade between India and Nigeria is pegged at around $3 billion, with the African country becoming the largest destination for Indian manufactured products in Africa.