Shettima Hails China’s Commitment to Meeting Partnership Goal

Nigeria is still dedicated to working with China and other African nations, according to Vice President Kashim Shettima, to ensure that the partnership’s goals are met to the mutual advantage of all parties.

Shettima stated this at the China-Africa Leaders’ Roundtable Dialogue Meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, according to a statement released on Friday by Mr. Olusola Abiola, Director, Information, Office of the Vice President.

The vice president discussed “Promoting African Integration and Jointly Building a High-Level Africa-China Community with a Shared Future” in front of a sizable crowd at the Sandton Convention Center that included President Xi Jinping of China and various African dignitaries.

He said “Nigeria welcomes the new initiatives introduced by the Chinese authorities, which include supporting and promoting the modernization of Africa’s agriculture and agribusiness sectors.

“It also supports the provision of robust support for Africa to expedite regional integration and backing Africa’s industrialization and infrastructure expansion.”

He lauded the existing partnership between China and Africa, particularly “the three newly-identified initiatives and priority areas of cooperation between China and Africa in the areas of agriculture, industrialisation, and human capacity development.

“These align with the ‘Renewed Hope’ mantra of President Bola Tinubu’s Administration, the African Union’s Agenda 2063, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

“They are relevant to our continental and national development aspirations,” the vice president said.

Shettima hailed China’s commitment and stated that Nigeria fully supports China, saying they look forward to working closely with them, the African Union, and all other parties involved.

“This collective efforts will elevate the Africa-China comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership to unprecedented heights, driven by our mutual pursuit of economic prosperity.”

Developing synergy among the relevant national institutions tasked with formulating, coordinating, and implementing national policies in the three priority areas of cooperation is one of the crucial areas he identified for the current partnership between Africa and China. Another important area is supporting initiatives that encourage African ownership of these initiatives.

“Other areas include the new undertakings designed in a manner that acknowledges that local peculiarities are community-based, and tailored to individual country needs.

“Amplify international resources for financing education in Africa; Solicit input from pertinent African Union institutions and continental organizations such as the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, and other related regional bodies.”