{{Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, have presided over the signing of accords between their governments to facilitate $1.1bn in low-interest loans for much-needed infrastructure in Nigeria.}}<\/p>\n
The ceremony took place on Wednesday in Beijing at the start of Jonathan’s four-day visit.<\/p>\n
China, which is increasingly looking to Africa for oil and other natural resources, is offering Nigeria loans to help fund airport terminals in four cities, roads, a light-rail line for its capital, a hydropower plant and oil and gas infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Jonathan’s visit comes a few months after Xi’s trip to Africa, which took him to the Republic of Congo, Tanzania and South Africa. All three countries are rich in natural resources.<\/p>\n
Xi said China and Nigeria had been brought together by a common task of pursuing national development.<\/p>\n
“China and Nigeria share the same goal of achieving prosperity for both countries, and this shared task brings our two countries together.”<\/p>\n
Jonathan is visiting with a dozen of his cabinet ministers, including those for petroleum resources, trade and transport, as well as several state governors, senior government officials and business-people.<\/p>\n
“China is a very good country, has a very robust economy. And that’s why when I was coming, I came with quite a number of cabinet ministers and other very senior government functionaries,” Jonathan said.<\/p>\n
Following a meeting between Xi and Jonathan, representatives from both countries signed five deals, including a lending agreement between China’s Import-Export Bank and the Nigerian finance ministry for the expansion of the airport terminals and an economic and technical cooperation pact.<\/p>\n
Details of the agreements were not immediately available.<\/p>\n
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Nigerian finance minister, said the loans being finalised during the trip were part of $3bn approved by China at interest rates of less than 3 percent.<\/p>\n
Chinese companies are already building roads across Nigeria in contracts worth $1.7bn.<\/p>\n
China’s demand for crude oil produced in Nigeria is expected to rise tenfold to 200,000 barrels a day by 2015, according to information provided by a team accompanying the Nigerian president.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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