Nigeria Will Honour Agreements With China – Buhari

Livelihood of Nigerians may soon improve following the assurance of President Muhammadu Buhari that Nigeria is ready to provide counterpart funding on all agreements reached with China for the provision of infrastructure.

This, Buhari believes will directly impact for the better on the living conditions of Nigerians.

The president stated this when he received Yang Jiechi, Special Envoy of the President of China, Xi Jinping, at State House, Abuja, on Thursday.

Buhari expressed expressed deep appreciation for China’s sustained and genuine efforts to improve Nigeria’s infrastructure development, especially in the sectors of road, railway, aviation, as well as power and water resources.

“Now that we have a government in place (with the Ministers), we know the provision of infrastructure is very important. It (Infrastructure) provides job opportunities and economic sustainability which are very important for political stability,” he said.

The Nigerian leader also underlined Nigeria and China’s cooperation at the international arena.

He said: “At the international level, we appreciate the support we give to each other and very importantly this must be sustained.

“Nigeria is determined to play its role wherever China’s interest is concerned.”

President Buhari appreciated China’s support for Nigeria’s presidency of the 74th UN General Assembly.

On Lake Chad, the President emphasised the need for sustained support from China on the recharging of The Lake.

He noted that Nigeria and countries in the region have a lot to benefit from Chinese expertise and technology on inter-basin water transfer.

“China has the technology, the people and the resources to help Lake Chad Basin countries because not many people in the region appreciate our problem of being near the Sahara desert and its influence on our population and climate change, which is affecting over 20 million people living there,’’ he said.

Delivering the message of President Xi, the Special envoy, who led a high-powered Chinese delegation to the meeting, assured President Buhari of China’s readiness to improve strategic partnership with Nigeria.

He also assured that China would effectively implement the outcomes of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Beijing Summit in 2018.

“China firmly supports Nigeria in pursuing a development path that supports Nigeria’s national conditions. We have every confidence that under Your Excellency’s able leadership, Nigeria will achieve even greater success in its national development.

“During Your Excellency’s trip to China for the FOCAC Beijing Summit, we had bilateral meetings and reached important agreements on our bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest.

“I highly value China’s ties with Nigeria and stand ready to work with Your Excellency to enhance our political trust, jointly pursue Belt and Road Cooperation, effectively implement the outcomes of FOCAC and strengthen our coordination in regional and international affairs so as to further enrich the strategic partnership between both countries,” President Xi said.

The Chinese leader once again congratulated President Buhari on his re-election.

According to reports, the bilateral meeting was presided over by president Buhari and with the Ministers of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Power, Transport, Aviation, Industry, Trade and Investment and Foreign Affairs in attendance.

Among some of the things discussed at the meeting are status and implementation of several on-going projects being undertaken by Chinese firms in the country including railways, free trade zones, Mambilla Hydro-Power plant and four airport terminals, among others.