The Chinese government on Wednesday said it would assist Nigeria in the fight against terror and especially in efforts to rescue the abducted school girls in Chibok, Borno.
President Goodluck Jonathan made the disclosure at a joint press conference he addressed with the Premier of China, Li Keqiang, at the State House, Abuja.
Keqiang arrived in Abuja on Tuesday on an official visit and to attend the World Economic Forum on Africa, being hosted by the Nigerian government.
Jonathan and Keqiang, as well as top government officials from both countries had a closed door bilateral meeting at the Presidential Villa, during which several agreements and Memoranda of Understanding were signed.
Addressing journalists after the bilateral meeting, President Jonathan said they examined issues of common interest to both countries.
He added that “we agreed to deepen cooperation in the field of defence and security and strenghten cooperation in counter terrorism, anti piracy and combating organised crimes.
“The Premier expressed firm support to efforts at safeguarding our sovereignty and secure our territorial integrity, as well as promoting economic development
“The Premier also promised that China will assist Nigeria in the fight against terror, especially our commitment and efforts to rescue the girls that were taken away from a secondary school in Chibok, Borno State.’’
Jonathan said that the meeting reviewed in particular, economic, trade, political and cultural relations.
He noted that they also agreed that the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the strategic partnership between the two countries coming up in 2015 should be marked to further deepen relations.
The President said that he reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to the one-China policy while the Premier expressed firm support for efforts to promote economic development.
“We agreed to encourage our bastions, companies to further deepen cooperation in infrastructure development, especially the railways, power plants and airports.
“We also agreed that the economic cooperation zones established by the Chinese enterprise in Nigeria have achieved tangible progress and that those enterprises should be encouraged to invest in various fields of the Nigerian economy.
“We further expressed support for the financial institutions of the two countries for cooperation in on-lending to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.’’
Jonathan said they also agreed that the central banks of the two countries should promote local currency settlements to facilitate bilateral trade and investment, noting tht “at the end of our discussions, our ministers signed a number of bilateral cooperation agreements and MoUs.
Among the MoUs, he noted, was the Bilateral Air Services Agreement, which would definitely promote greater people to people contact and enhance bilateral trade and commerce.
On his part, the Chinese Premier said they agreed to strenghten bilateral cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, financial services, trade and investment, agriculture, air services, aerospace and people to people exchange.
The Premier, who spoke through an interpreter, said China also wanted to work with Nigeria to ensure quality and safety of mutual exchange and export.
He disclosed that “Nigeria is one of China’s trading partners in Africa and in 2013, trade between both countries reached about 30.6 billion dollars (about N4.9 trillion). I wish to emphasise that we know that the government and people of Nigeria pay high attention to coastal rail project in Nigeria.
“The project is quite significant to the national security and economic development of the country. Chinese companies have already shown key interest in this project and the Chinese government will support cooperations between the two sides in terms of financing and experts.
“We want to work with Nigeria to the conclusion of the project so that it will bring benefits to the people of Nigeria.’’
Keqiang said he was happy to see very rapid economic growth in Nigeria, adding that “Nigeria has become the largest economy in Africa. Moreover, the Nigerian economy has sustained the upward momentum.’’
He expressed the hope to see not just more trade between both countries, but also stronger cooperation in the development of agriculture in Nigeria.