More than 12 Indian universities and institutes of higher learning are taking part in a two-day education expo in Nigeria's financial hub of Lagos to foster bilateral cooperation in the field of education.

The event, which was attended by industry leaders and officials of the Nigerian government, was declared open by the Indian high commissioner to the oil-rich African country, Mahesh Sachdev.

"In 2012, over 1200 Nigerians went to India to study and we expect this growth to accelerate further this year following this exhibition," Sachdev said.

Noting that the increase was as a result of the first Indian education fair held in Abuja and Lagos in June 2012 which, Sachdev said bilateral cooperation in education has had a proud history and remains a priority.

One of the participating institutes, VAG Group of Educational Institutes, said it has trained many students from Nigeria in the recent past and still has students from the country and other African nations.

At present, Indian education providers such as NIIT, Aptech, Educom, Edusoft, Reliance Education Services are active in Nigeria.