By Felix Onuah
LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigeria and China agreed to strengthen ties in the Belt and Road initiative, human resources development and nuclear energy after the countries’ leaders met on Tuesday, a government spokesperson said.
China is Nigeria’s biggest bilateral lender, with loans amounting to $5 billion at the end of March, according to figures from Nigeria’s Debt Management office.
Both countries have maintained diplomatic ties over the past 50 years. They were strengthened in 2018 when China and Nigeria became partners in the Belt and Road Initiative.
The ensuing partnership has delivered massive infrastructure projects in Nigeria from a deep sea port to rail lines.
“This comprehensive strategic partnership should result in robust development, stability, and security in the West African sub-region,” President Bola Tinubu said.
Nigeria’s Tinubu joins a summit of 50 African nations in Beijing this week at the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa which the Chinese leader called an opportunity to consolidate China-Africa relations.
“China and Nigeria, as major developing countries, strengthening strategic coordination, will inject fresh impetus to China-Africa relations in the new era and spearhead common progress among Global South countries,” President Xi said.
Tinubu toured the Huawei Research lab and secured a commitment from Huawei to establish a joint solar PV test lab in Nigeria.
Another Chinese firm also pledged to establish an assembly plant for electric tricycles and train Nigerians in technology and renewable energy development.
(Reporting by Felix Onuah; Writing by Isaac Anyaogu; editing by David Evans)
Comments