NAIROBI, January 20. /TASS/. Russia plans to assist Nigeria, which has entered BRICS as a partner country, in developing agriculture, oil and gas sector and its mineral resources, Russia’s Trade Representative in Abuja Maxim Petrov told TASS.
"Nigeria as a country with the largest population in Africa boasts a huge development potential. The Russian Federation as a BRICS member is ready to assist in developing the country’s agriculture, its oil and gas sector, in developing its mineral resources," he said, adding that the development of Nigeria’s human capital, which Russia is involved in through providing free higher education to Nigerians, remains the key task. "In the short-term, we also plan to deepen cooperation regarding secondary professional education," Petrov added.
On January 18, Nigeria joined BRICS as its partner country. Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry said earlier that BRICS provided the country with a unique possibility to develop trade, investment and social-economic cooperation with participants of the association.
Brazil took over BRICS presidency from Russia on January 1. At a BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia in October, it was decided to establish a category of BRICS partner countries. The first countries to become partners were Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda and Uzbekistan. Indonesia was also initially named as a BRICS partner, but on January 6, Brazil announced that the Asian country had been given a status of full member.