Governor Ganduje of Kano State

Kano state government and Hunan Province of People’s Republic of China have signed a Friendship Agreement that will cover several areas of bilateral cooperation.

This is contained in a statement signed by the Director – General, Media and Publicity to the governor, Malam Ameen Yasar and made available to newsmen in Kano on Thursday.

The statement said that the Director – General of Foreign Affairs, Office of Hunan Provincial Government, Mr. Xu Zhengxian and the Kano State Attorney General, Ibrahim Mukhtar signed the agreement on behalf of their respective governments.

The ceremony which took place at the Aminu Kano Governor’s lodge, Abuja on Thursday was presided by the state Acting governor, Prof. Hafiz Abubakar, according to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN.

Abubakar said that the state has carved a niche for itself “as a famous commercial center, with easy access to multiple markets and millions of people not only in Northern Nigeria but also in Niger, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Sudan.

He described Kano as an ideal investment destination because it serves as one of West Africa’s largest markets.

According to the statement, The Acting governor stated that the entrepreneurial skills and warm hospitality of its people, coupled with vast natural resources was also an added advantage that would encourage prospective investors.

“We, therefore, welcome this bilateral agreement with you because I can see that you intend to invest in agriculture, construction, leather, textile and other areas”, he told the Hunan delegation,” he said.

Abubakar was confident that the friendship would continue to grow from strength to strength expressing appreciation to Lee Group, a Chinese conglomerate for its investments in Kano, which he said has created thousands of jobs and added value to the local and national economy.

Earlier on, the governor of Hunan Province, Mr. Xu Da She, who spoke through an interpreter, explained that the Friendship Agreement aimed to deepen Nigeria-China relations.

“We have experience in social and economic development and we are willing to share it with the people of Nigeria.

We are willing to deepen cooperation with Kano in agriculture because we have expertise in agriculture, agricultural equipment and technology, processing of products as well as infrastructure development”.

Highlighting that his province is the home of Mao Zedong, he described it as an important and essential part of China with over 73 million inhabitants and a total GDP of about 500 million US dollars.

Mr. Xu Da She expressed optimism that relationship between the two sister states would yield positive results with multiplier effect on both countries, stressing that the states have huge potentials that could be harnessed for mutual benefit.