Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said he welcomes the prospect of Russian oil companies taking part in joint ventures to develop his country's natural resources.
"Our countries' resources bases are similar in many ways, and Russian companies could take part in developing the natural riches of Nigeria," he said at a meeting with Russian oil executives, according to AFP.
In addition to the construction and repair of oil and gas pipelines and the development of deposits, Russian companies could also become involved in other areas of the economy such as agriculture and telecommunications, the Nigerian president said, AFP wrote.
He noted that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed that their trade exchanges, which currently totals US$50 million, should be increased to US$500 million over the next five years.
"Unless Nigerian and Russian business circles join in, this will not be possible," he said, AFP quoted.
An official with Rosneftegazstroi, a subsidiary of the Russian oil giant Rosneft, told Interfax that his company was considering a possible tender to take part in a major trans-Saharian gas pipeline project.
Nigeria is currently developing a project to build a gas pipeline to southern Algeria which would supply gas from the Gulf of Guinea to Europe, Interfax quoted unspecified sources as saying. Obasanjo was due to leave Moscow later in the day at the close of a three-day visit, his first to Russia.
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