India has set up an apparel training centre in Nigeria, first of its kind in that country, in partnership with the government of Nigeria to support skill development in the textiles sector of the West African nation, union commerce ministry sources said.

The centre is established in the city of Kaduna under the Cotton Technical Assistance Programme for Africa being implemented by India’s department of commerce.

The centre is aimed to support and catalyze the initiative of Nigeria in realizing the objectives to rebuild the cotton and textile value chain and address the need for skilled workforce for domestic as well as export-oriented apparel industry in that region.

Currently, there are over 100 Indian companies present in Nigeria mainly in the textile, telecom, IT, hydrocarbons, electrical equipment, pharmaceuticals, plastics and auto sectors. India-Nigeria bilateral trade was valued at over 12 billion US dollar in 2015-16.