LIVE UPDATES
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called for an increase in the $2 billion currency swap agreement between Nigeria and China, highlighting its potential to boost trade, investment, and infrastructure development.
Tinubu expressed the need for an expansion to meet Nigeria’s development goals, saying the current approval is inadequate considering the volume of trade between both countries.
The currency swap deal, recently renewed and valued at 15 billion yuan (approximately $2 billion), was designed to facilitate seamless trade between the two nations.
The appeal was made during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the State House in Abuja on Thursday.
Tinubu also urged China to review its $50 billion aid package for Africa, noting that the continent’s growing infrastructure demands require more robust support.
“The infrastructural needs of Africa are greater than that, and we want to move as rapidly as our other counterparts,” he remarked.
On a global scale, the President sought China’s backing for Nigeria’s bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
He emphasized that Africa’s representation in global decision-making bodies is long overdue.
Responding, Wang Yi commended Tinubu’s leadership and pledged continued Chinese support for Nigeria’s economic and security priorities. He announced that the Chinese National Development Bank had already begun funding key projects in the country.
The Chinese Foreign Minister also conveyed China’s endorsement of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for a second term as Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), underscoring her contributions to global trade reform.
The meeting further solidified Nigeria-China relations, with both nations committing to deeper collaboration in trade, infrastructure, and diplomacy. “Our bond should grow stronger and become unbreakable,” Tinubu
