From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister, Mr Wang Yi, has concluded plans to visit Nigeria.
The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Nigeria disclosed the visit on its Twitter handle, @China_emb_ng.
The visit, the Chinese Embassy disclosed, was at the invitation of the Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama.
An official of the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs who also hinted about the visit said the visiting Chinese Foreign Minister and his Nigerian counterpart will address the media at the end of the visit.
The embassy further said the official visit of the Chinese Foreign Minister will begin on January 4, 2021, and end on January 5, 2021.
‘At the invitation of Nigerian Foreign Minister @GeoffreyOnyeama, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will pay an official visit to Nigeria from Jan 4 to 5, 2021,’ the Chinese Embassy said.
Chinese foreign ministers have for the past 30 years chosen Africa as their first point of call at the beginning of every year.
Wang was reported to have said that the development was based on the special feelings of friendship from generation to generation and sharing weal and woe between China and Africa.
‘First of all, this is based on the special feelings of friendship from generation to generation and sharing weal and woe between China and Africa. China-Africa friendship has a long history. Especially in modern times, the two sides fought together for national independence and liberation, shared weal and woe, supported each other, formed a brotherly friendship, and became each others’ trusted good friend. In the period of development and construction, we joined together again and made progress hand in hand, and became good partners for mutual benefit and win-win progress. For decades, no matter how the international have changed, the friendship between China and Africa has become even stronger, and the torch has been handed down on and on. Our relations have stood up to the test, eliminated the disturbance, and become a model for international relations and South-South cooperation,’ Wang said.
Wang also said the decision was based on the realistic needs of deepening cooperation and common development between China and Africa.
China, he added, is the largest developing country, and Africa is the continent where developing countries are most concentrated.
Wang further said the decision to put Africa first every year by Chinese Foreign Ministers was also based on the important mission of strengthening international cooperation and safeguarding common interests between China and Africa.