From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja

Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria Gangadharan Balasubramanian has explained why the Indian Government did not close its high commission in Abuja despite security alerts from the United States and the United Kingdom.

Balasubramanian gave the explanation during the celebration of the Indian National Unity Day in Abuja.

The Indian envoy said: “Security is certainly paramount and we have taken certain precautions and embraced the inputs that have been received generally from the government.

“So, we have not shut down our things, we continue to work, but taking precautions as security is paramount for Indian nationals and people who are working over here.”

On India’s assistance to Nigeria in the area of security, Balasubramanian stated that security was an internal matter obviously for training and capacity building.

He however said India is always ready and has always been providing such training, including on the security side to Nigerian nationals and will continue to do so.

Earlier, Balasubramanian said India-Nigeria relations were quite strong, with 64 years of cooperation between both countries, dating back to 1958.

He said the latest in the bilateral relations between India and Nigeria is that India has invited Nigeria as a guest country for the G20 events where it will be assuming the presidency on December 1, 2022.