Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has received Dr Maria Antonio, Governor of Bengo Province, Angola, on an official visit aimed at strengthening bilateral agreements in key sectors, such as agriculture and education, between the state and the province.
Speaking at the event on Monday in Lafia, Gov. Sule welcomed the governor of Bengo Province, Angola Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr Jose Bamoquina-Zau as well as members of their team to the state.
Sule explained that the delegations from the state visited Angola in September, and the delegations from the province returned the visit three months later to finalise their agreement for onward implementation, benefiting both the state and the province.
The governor appreciated the Ambassador for his foresight and dedication to ensuring that the relationship comes to fruition during this visit.
“If you remember, in September, a delegation from Nassera, led me, was invited the Ministry of External Affairs to strengthen the bilateral agreement that was signed earlier between our President, Bola Tinubu and the Angolan President, João Lourenço.
Our visit in September was in order to strengthen this agreement so that it will not be just an agreement that will be resting on shelves, so we identified Bengo Province because of its similarity with us.
“Bengo Province has proximity to Luanda, the capital of Angola and has so much to do with agriculture, just like we have this proximity to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
“We visited a lot of sites for agriculture, doing a lot of fruits and vegetables and minerals development, marble and so many other types, and they are similar to what we have here in Nasarawa State,” Sule added.
The governor further said that the state government has gotten the approval from the Ministry of External Affairs to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tuesday, Dec. 16.
He noted that the agreement was part of his efforts to internationalise the state’s economic prospects and attract foreign direct investment.
He therefore said that the bilateral agreements were anticipated to boost economic growth, enhance knowledge sharing, and create opportunities for exchange programmes between the state and the province.
In her response, Gov. of Bengo Province appreciated the Nasarawa State government for the reception since their arrival in Nigeria and expressed optimism that the agreement would benefit the state and the province.
The governor explained that the Angola Ambassador to Nigeria, the Director of the Integrated Development Cabinet of Bengo, the Director of Press of Ben, the Director of the Judicial Cabinet, responsible for the Office of Law, among others, were part of the team from her country.
She noted that the agreement would strengthen the cooperation between the governments of the two countries and the regions to establish bonds of friendship, get to know each other better, and share experiences together for the development of our two states.
“We think that this is the opportunity that we have to enforce cooperation between people and this will go a long way for the development of our two regions.
“We know that both delegations will work together to achieve these important goals and we wish that our cooperation from now on will be more profitable for the two countries and regions,” she added.
Antonio, therefore, said that the delegations had the approval of the Angolan President to sign the agreement as a follow-up to the bilateral agreement between the two countries. (NAN).