President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in Shanghai, China, said his administration would give priority to the building and development of resilient and viable cities comparable with other developed cities across the globe.
This is contained in a statement
issued by Mallam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and
Publicity to the President.
According to the statement, Buhari
stated this at separate meetings with the Mayor of the Chinese city of
Shanghai, Mr Yang Xiong and the Director of Shanghai Free Trade Zone, Liu
Fangzhou.
Buhari said the Federal Government
would give full support to Free Trade and Export Processing Zones in the
country to spur rapid economic development.
The President, who visited the
Shanghai Free Trade Zone, said Nigeria was prepared to learn “how to make our
cities more viable from those that have achieved development.
“We have already identified the
development of infrastructure which will bring industries that create jobs and
help us to diversify the economy.
“We are going to work hard to
achieve these within the period we have in office. Nigerians will see progress
and feel the impact,’’ he said.
While commending the hardwork and
incredible success story of the city of Shanghai, Buhari said the virtues of
hard work were central to every human achievement and development.
In his remarks, the Mayor of
Shanghai expressed the willingness of several Chinese businesses to key into
the vision of the Chinese President Xi Jinping for Africa by investing in
Nigeria.
The statement also quoted the
Director of the Free Trade Zone Liu Fangzhou, as commending the effort of the
Nigerian government towards the diversification of the economy.
Fangzhou further enjoined the
Nigerian government to provide favourable policy environment to encourage
foreign investors. (NAN)
Comments