The Nigerian government has approved a new visa policy to make it easier for “strategic visitors” to enter the country, especially investors and tourists who have  money, according to a report in Economic Times.

The goal is to attract global investors and tourists, said Babatunde Lawal, director of macroeconomics at the National Planning Commission of Nigeria. He spoke at a meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi.

India is the second largest trading partner for Nigeria, with bilateral trade reaching $17 billion in 2011-12, according to a report in NYDailyNews. Nigeria is India’s largest trading partner in Africa.

Nigeria wants to diversify its economy and attract more investment in the non-oil sector of the economy, Lawal said.

Nigeria’s energy, power, telecommunications, information technology, medical/pharmaceutical and consumer goods sectors hold considerable appeal for Indian businesses, according to the reports.

India’s mining companies like Vendanta, Tata and the state-owned NMDC have made headway in Africa, both reports say.

A Nigerian delegation of civil and military officials is currently on a study tour of India to learn how the Indian economy has grown and how democratic governance has made benefits  of that growth available to citizens.

The first India-Africa Business Series, themed “Securing Energy for Emerging Markets: The Africa-Asia Experience,” concluded with a networking session between companies in the oil and gas sector of both countries.