President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday in Beijing won the crucial support of the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, for the country’s aspiration to build the 3050 Megawatts Mambila hydroelectric power project.

The two countries also signed the agreement of $328m for the Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure Backbone Phase II (NICTIB II) project.

The concessional loan agreement between Galaxy Backbone Limited and Huawei Technologies Limited (HUAWEI) was signed by Nigeria’s Minister of Finance Kemi Adesoun and Wang Xiaotoa, Director-General, International Development Agency, in the presence of President Muhammadu Buhari and President Xi Jinping of China.

Nigeria and China also signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the One Belt One Road Initiative (OBOR).

Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama and He Lifeng, Director, China’s National Development and Reform Commission signed the OBOR- an initiative of President Xi which focuses on improving connectivity and cooperation among multiple countries spread across the continents of Asia, Africa and Europe.

Earlier during his meeting with President Xi, the Nigerian leader, while commending the Chinese government for successfully hosting the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) solicited support for the Mambilla hydropower project.

Noting that Mambilla project remains a key priority to Nigeria, the President also sought additional Chinese funding for four airport terminal projects as well as the Abuja light rail project.

President Buhari told his Chinese counterpart that since his last visit to China in 2016, the brotherly relationship between both countries had continued to flourish.

According to the President, ‘‘in the past 24 months, the Chinese Government has provided humanitarian aid to our conflict-affected areas, scholarship to Nigerian youth, military training and security support to our personnel and agricultural modernization training.’’

President Buhari noted that in the period under review, China had provided concessionary loans to fund critical infrastructure projects in Nigeria, adding that these interventions have positively impacted millions of Nigerians and will continue to do so for generations to come.
On Mambilla, the Chinese leader told President Buhari: ‘‘We understand how critical the project is to your country and we will take a serious look at it and ensure that it succeeds because of its social and economic benefits.’’

Meanwhile, at a separate meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, President Buhari reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to expanding mutually beneficial cooperation with China. (NAN)

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