Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will arrive in Nigeria on Wednesday, January 8, in continuation of his diplomatic visit to Africa.
NewsNGR had reported that Nigeria is among four African countries Mr. Yi is scheduled to visit during his tour, between January 5, to January 11, 2025.
Other countries he is scheduled to visit include Namabia, the Republic of the Congo, and Chad.
According to a statement by Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China will on Wednesday, visit Nigeria on a two-day working visit.
According to the statement, He will be received at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport by Dunoma Ahmed, the permanent minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He is also scheduled to meet with Nigeria’s minister of foreign affairs, Yusuf Tuggar before meeting with President Bola Tinubu on Thursday, January 9, to deliver a message from President Xi Jinping of China.
The statement read in part, “During his visit, H.E. Mr. Wang Yi will meet with the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja on Thursday 9th January 2025 for bilateral talks that will focus on strengthening relations between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the People’s Republic of China.”
In a statement released on Friday, the spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, Mao Ning, said the trips to African countries underscore the continent’s strategic importance to China’s foreign policy.
“The visit reflects China’s tradition of prioritizing Sino-African relations and highlights the importance of strengthening our cooperation,” Ning said.
According to him, the tour follows proposals made by Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation last year where he stressed the need to strengthen relations between China and African nations.
The framework focuses on implementing 10 partnership initiatives for modernisation to deepen China-Africa cooperation and spearhead Global South modernisation, within three years.
The partnership will expand trade, support industrialization, enhance infrastructure, and foster cultural and knowledge exchanges between China and Africa.