On Thursday, December 14, a delegation of officials from Jilin Province of the Peoples Republic of China paid a courtesy visit to Nigeria’s House of Representatives in Abuja to strengthen economic cooperation and mutual exchange between the two countries and peoples.
Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Jilin Provincial People’s Congress, Mr Fan Ruiping, led the Jilin delegation to the meeting. Other members of his team include Liu Naijun, Deputy Director General of Department of Commerce of Jilin Province; Zhang Dianfeng, Secretary of the Party Committee of Jilin Agricultural University; Li Jianhua, Deputy Director General of Foreign Affairs Office of Jilin Province; Liu Zhijian, Division Chief of Foreign Affairs Office of Jilin Province, Wang Fang, Director of High tech products import and export Division of Department of Commerce Jilin Province; Yang Jian, Deputy General Manager of South Africa Company of China FAW Import and Export Company Limited; and Chen Yin, General Manager of International Marketing Center of Dirui Medical Technology Company Limited. Cui Gwangzhen, Director-General of the China General Chamber of Commerce, was also part of the engagement.
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Benjamin Okezie Kalu led the delegation from the Nigerian side. Others include Jaafaru Yakubu, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Nigeria-China relations; Deputy Chairman of the committee, Uchenna Harrison Okonkwo; Akin Rotimi, Philip Agbese, Muhammed Buba, Umar Ajilo, Muhammed Jamilu and Adebayo Adepoju.
In his keynote address, Vice Chairman of Jilin Provincial People’s Congress, Mr Fan Ruiping, said Nigeria and China share an excellent history of win-win friendship since the ancient Silk Road. He said President Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the cooperation between the two countries and emphasizes the need to work together to build a common future of shared prosperity.
While stressing that Jilin is the birthplace of Chinese automobile and petrochemical industries, Mr Fan stated that the province is open to business partnerships and investments with Nigeria, especially in agriculture, education, tourism, automobile and manufacturing.
Also speaking, Honourable Benjamin Okezie Kalu, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, said the visit by the Jilin Province is a testament to the importance placed by the Nigerian government in strengthening China-Nigeria bilateral ties.
He stressed that the legislative arm of government is willing to partner with Jilin province in business, investment and technology transfer for the mutual benefit of both countries and peoples.
Mr Fan had ealier paid courtesy visits to Honourable Jaafaru Yakubu, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Nigeria-China relations and his deputy, Uchenna Harrison Okonkwo.
The mutual exchange between both sides serves as an opportunity for the advancement of trade, commerce and people-to-people cooperation between the two countries. The China General Chamber of Commerce in Nigeria is willing to serve as a link for the actualization of this partnership.
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