Rio Tinto, along with 10 other Australian companies, have been made part of an Australia-Nigeria Trade and Investment Council to look into possible investment opportunities in Nigeria's mining, agriculture and financial services sectors.

Nigerian Minister of Trade and Investment Olusegun Aganga, during an Australian-Nigerian businessmen's dinner at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, said the council will be constituted by a maximum of 10 members each from the Nigerian and Australian sides.

The council will be private sector-driven with strong support from the Australian and Nigerian governments, as it opens up opportunities for companies in Nigeria to expand their businesses, acquire more skills and employ more people.

"It is going to be a win-win strategy for both countries," Aganga said.

The Rio Tinto Group is a diversified, British-Australian, multinational mining and resources group with headquarters in London and Melbourne. The company places itself among the world leaders in the production of many commodities, including aluminum, iron ore, copper, uranium, coal and diamonds. Although primarily focused on extraction of minerals, Rio Tinto also has significant operations in refining, particularly for bauxite and iron ore. It operates on six continents but is mainly concentrated in Australia and Canada. Gross assets are valued at $81 billion through wholly and partly owned subsidiaries.

The council will have secretariats in both Australia and Lagos, Nigeria.

Aganga said he plans to create more similar councils with eight other countries.

"Countries must leverage on their competitive advantages in a coordinated manner to achieve sustainable growth," he said.

The Australia-Nigeria Trade and Investment Council was a result of earlier reports where Aganga announced that 166 non-oil indigenous firms have finalised plans to invest N1.5 trillion in the Nigerian economy within 12 months.