The Presidency said on Saturday that Nigerian delegation, led by President Muhammadu Buhari, to the just-concluded Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit in Beijing, China, signed 13 deals worth $10bn.
It said the Nigeria Investment Promotion Council and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Federation were to subsequently sign more of such deals which were said to be under discussion.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said on Saturday that the deals signed by Buhari and his delegation bordered on direct investments, job creation, infrastructure financing and Information Communication Technology.
In a statement he titled, ‘President Buhari’s takeaways from FOCAC Beijing Summit’, Shehu detailed what he described as Nigeria’s achievements from the President’s six-day working visit to China.
Shehu described Buhari’s engagements with Chinese President, Xi Jinping, and others during the visit as successful and highly rewarding.
He said as part of Nigeria’s gains from China, Buhari and his delegation signed many agreements and Memoranda of Understanding between the Nigerian government and Chinese businesses, and between Nigerian businesses and their Chinese counterparts.
He said while there were other deals still being negotiated, the 13 already signed were worth $10bn.
He said, “Among the several outcomes of the engagements of President Buhari and his delegation at the FOCAC Beijing summit were the many agreements and Memoranda of Understanding signed between the Nigerian Government and Chinese businesses, and between Nigerian businesses and their Chinese counterparts.
“The Nigerian delegation was able to sign 13 agreements during the summit out of 25, with more to be signed by the Nigeria Investment Promotion Council and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Federation.
“In all, more than $10bnn agreements were signed.
“Others, still under discussion will be quantified upon the conclusion of discussions by various parties.”
According to him, among the agreements or MoUs that had been signed included the one entered into with China National Petroleum Corporation, which was said to have “agreed to secure funding for the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Ajaokuta–Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline to cost $2.8bn.”
He added that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation entered another agreement with Nanni Good Fortune Heavy Industries Group and Capegate Group for a $400m investments across six states.
