by Guo Jun and Olatunji Saliu
ABUJA, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari says China has proved to be a willing ally in Nigeria's developmental efforts, describing cooperation between the two countries as one that is growing "at a very satisfactory win-win level."
In an interview with Xinhua in Abuja, Buhari said his government gladly embraced the vast opportunities the relationship between the two countries offered in reversing Nigeria's infrastructural deficits.
"Nigeria has deficiencies in roads, rail, power, agriculture, healthcare, name it. And China has advanced well in all those areas and more so, in the best interest of our country and her people, we took the helping hand offered by China through assistance for development, and we are progressing well now," the president said ahead of his visit to China for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit scheduled for Sept. 3 and 4 in Beijing.
Buhari said China has proved to have the financial and technical capacity and goodwill to help Nigeria achieve its infrastructural development goals, thereby expressing his country's genuine wishes to upgrade cooperation with China.
He further hailed fruitful China-Nigeria cooperation, saying Nigeria currently has many projects on stream in different sectors including rail, power, health, and agriculture, while some others are in the pipeline due to the growing mutually beneficial ties.
Nigeria's participation in the FOCAC will focus on the upgrading of Nigeria-China relations, said the president who is leading more than 20 top government officials to the Beijing Summit.
Buhari is attending FOCAC for the second time as Nigeria's leader, having attended the Johannesburg Summit held three years ago in South Africa.
FOCAC is a veritable opportunity for Nigeria, and African countries in general, to attract development and improve the quality of lives of their people, he said.
"At the FOCAC summit in Beijing, I look forward to a consolidation of our win-win relationship, and consummation of the agreements we have entered into, as well as the signing of new ones," he said.
The president thanked China for offering support in Nigeria's infrastructural development.
"I am satisfied with the mutually beneficial cooperation between Nigeria and China," he added.
