29-07-08 As part of efforts to support Nigeria, India will establish two power plants with a combined capacity of 1,200 MW in the country. This hint was dropped by the special envoy of the Indian Prime Minister, Mr Anand Sharma in Abuja. He said that his country was working on establishing two power plants that would help Nigeria in its search for a lasting solution to its power problem.
The envoy further stated that the first plant to be built by his country would be from gas, with a generation capacity of 700 MW, while the second plant would be from coal and would have a capacity of 500 MW.

Sharma noted that as a friend of Nigeria, his country was ready to do all within its power to help the country overcome the lingering power problem. The special envoy, who is also India's Minister of State for External Affairs, added that efforts at fast tracking the power plants would be intensified. He said Nigeria was the largest trading partner of India on the continent of Africa, reaching over $ 80 bn.
Sharma further noted that the two nations have a long diplomatic relations, spanning a period of 50 years.

The minister, who also said that his visit was to deliver an invitation from his Prime Minister to President Musa Yar'Adua to visit India, told that the Nigeria-India Joint Commission is to meet in Abuja this year before the president's visit.
Sharma also said part of his visit was to solicit Nigeria's support for India's initiative for civil nuclear energy cooperation which is to be tabled before the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which he equally said that Yar'Adua was in full support. He equally noted that his visit was to help fast-track the full implementation of the Abuja Declaration entered into between the two countries during the visit of the Indian Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to Nigeria last year.

Similarly, the minister said that his country would immediately supply about 15,000 tons of rice to Nigeria. He said that the supply was part of a short-term measure to help the country cushion the effects of the global food crisis on the country.
The envoy noted that the supply would be done before his country's next harvest, but failed to give details of the proposed supply. He, however, said that the Indian High Commission in Nigeria would work out the details with the Nigerian authorities.