Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, on Monday expressed the readiness of the State Government to tap into the agricultural expertise and technological advancement of Israel for the greater benefit of the state.

Governor Ambode, who stated this when he received the Ambassador of State of Israel to Nigeria, Mr Guy Feldman, at Lagos House, Ikeja, on courtesy visit, said it was time for Nigeria and Israel to take full advantage of their long-standing cordial relationship especially by laying greater emphasis on opportunities that would benefit both countries.

The Governor noted with excitement the fact that members of the delegation of the Israeli envoy included the business community, saying that as the economic capital of Nigeria, Lagos was open to partnership that would impact the people positively.

He said: “Lagos remains the heartbeat of Nigeria. We pride ourselves as the most populated and the commercial capital of Nigeria, as well as the fifth largest economy in Africa.

“We know that Israel is one of the huge tech-savvy countries that you have across the world and obviously for a city that is growing and still counting, we believe strongly that this visit is more instructive for us and we would like to take advantage of the technological advancement that we see across the world being done by mostly Israelis and also things that have to do with agricultural expertise.

“On that note, I welcome this visitation and I also think we should follow it up and make sure that the two countries as we represent Nigeria also here, that we should have greater inroads into the successes that have been recorded by Israel and also to ensure that we put that to our advantage in a cosmopolitan city like Lagos.”

Besides, the Governor assured of the commitment of his administration to continue to protect foreigners including Israelis and all Lagosians, saying that in the last 22 months, concerted efforts have been geared towards security and judicial sector reforms, as government remained very high in keeping the city safe.

Earlier, Feldman said he was at Lagos House to further advance relationship with Lagos State, being the heartbeat of Nigeria.

“Nigeria is not only the giant of Africa and whatever people might think, Africa is on the verge of huge success globally and looking at Nigeria, I am sitting at the centre of its beating heart (Lagos) and you can feel that actually.

“This is my first visit out of Abuja and looking at the tone of our reception by the Governor, I am certain we are in for a cordial relationship with the state,” Feldman said.

•Photo shows Governor Ambode presenting a gift to the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Guy Feldman, yesterday at Lagos House, Ikeja.

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