By Raphael Oni
As Nigeria and China mark 50 years of diplomatic relations, Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Xi Jinping of Nigeria and China respectively exchanged goodwill messages.
February 10th 2021 makes it 50 years of Nigeria –China relations which has witnessed a lot of win-win cooperation.
In the letter titled ‘Letter of Felicitations’ shared by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina in Abuja, Buhari expressed satisfaction with the progress of support from China in the building of rail, road, power, defences, and many other areas.
President Xi Jinping on his part said he attaches great importance to the development of China-Nigeria relations, and is ready to join efforts to take the opportunity of the anniversary to promote the traditional friendship, deepen practical cooperation in all fields under the Belt and Road Initiative and within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation so as to bring benefits to wo countries two peoples.
In the words of the Chinese leader, “In recent years, the China-Nigeria strategic Partnership has enjoyed a good momentum of development, which effectively improved the well-being of two peoples. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, China and African countries including Nigeria have joined their hands in the fight against the pandemic, and showcased the brotherhood of China and Africa in weal and woe,”
President Buhari praised the cooperation between both countries in the fight against the COVID-29 outbreak. According to Buhari, “In recent years, Nigeria and China have also witnessed steady development of their strategic partnership. In the face of significant challenges faced by international community, the two sides are upholding a common position of preserving multilateralism, not interfering in other countries’ internal affairs and safeguarding common interest of developing countries,”.
“This year is vital for China-Nigeria relations. The FOCAC has become a model of mutually beneficial cooperation between Nigeria and China, as well as between Africa and China. Nigeria is ready to work with China to make the new session of FOCAC this year a success.”
