Mr Kaisar Alam, the Acting High Commissioner of India in Nigeria, has said that no fewer than 200 Nigerians underwent skills acquisition trainings in India in 2014.
He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday that the beneficiaries underwent short-term trainings ranging from three to six months in different fields.
He said that the programme, which started in 1964 for the developing countries, particularly in Africa, was on the platform of South-South Cooperation.
The acting high commissioner explained that the programme was annual, adding that no fewer than 200 Nigerians were sent to India for trainings every year.
The envoy also said that his country gave undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships to Nigerians every year to study in different fields in India with the exception of medical courses.
Alam commended the military ties between the two countries, saying the collaboration extended beyond military equipment acquisition to enhanced training exchange programmes necessary for the injection of fresh ideas.
He noted that Nigeria and India signed a Memorandum of Understanding for bilateral and defence cooperation in 2007.
He said the defence exchange programme between the two countries’ tertiary defence institutions, the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) and the National Defence Academy, India, had witnessed remarkable improvements.
According to him, as part of activities marking its 50th anniversary, a delegation from the National Defence Academy, India, is expected to visit NDA on Jan. 16 to further build on the existing collaboration.
Alam said that the National Defence Academy, India and NDA were established about the same period and share similar basic curriculum.
NAN reports that the NDA was established on Feb. 5, 1964 while the Indian National Defence Academy was established on Dec. 7, 1964. (NAN)
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