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. This is contained in a statement by the Special Adviser on Strategic Communication and Media Relations, Bolaji Tunji, to the Minister of Power in Abuja. The MoU was facilitated and signed in Beijing at the African-China Co-operation Summit by the Rural Electrification Agency, an agency of the Ministry of Power. The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu and the Managing Director of REA, Abba Aliyu, were present at the ceremony.
Speaking at the event, Mr Adelabu said that the MoU signing were important and would go down as a memorable day for Nigeria. He congratulated the REA and the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria for the achievement. He said, “The MoU will go a long way towards achieving Nigeria’s vision for the renewable energy sub-sector of the electricity sector value chain. I know Nigeria and China have lots of things in common, one of which is the high population of both countries. And countries with high populations have so much pressure. The first pressure is that of energy access, and the second is job creation. So when you take steps to achieve both, it is a thing of joy. ”I am particularly happy that this is happening during the tenure of President Bola Tinubu, as it is in line with achieving the Renewed Hope Agenda of the administration for the country.’’ The minister reiterated that Mr Tinubu had prioritised the power sector as the driver of other critical sectors of the economy and given support to ensure that he delivered on his electoral promises.
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.
