The Vice President, Arc. Mohammed Namadi Sambo has received briefing on the establishment and hosting of the first Nigeria-Cote d'Ivoire Bi-National Commission (BNC).
Whilee receiving the briefing Thursday at the State House, Abuja , Vice President Sambo sought to know the level of preparedness and involvement of key sectors of the economy including science and technology, tourism, education and more importantly, trade and investment.
In his briefing, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Martin Uhomoibhi said the hosting of the first Bi-national Commission meeting between Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire is the outcome of a productive state visit of President Jonathan to Cote d'Ivoire and coupled with the strong ties between the two countries.
He said "it was providential that our President happened to be the Chairman of ECOWAS then and was instrumental to restoration of peace and the authentic person that won the election to become the president", adding that that is reflective of how strategic Nigeria is in the sub-region.
He added that there are three countries that Nigeria is having this level of relationship with, namely, the United States of America, Canada, South Africa and now Cote D'Ivoire, where the countries meet regularly at the level of the Vice President.
Uhomoibhi noted that this is the first time though, that the two countries are strong members of ECOWAS and African Union; that both of them are working on the same page. He said the memorandum of understanding (MoU) establishing the relationship was signed in March, 2013, adding that the first ministerial meeting of the BNC to be held in Nigeria was postponed twice and would be held now on 29th and 30th of July while the main meeting would take place on 1st of August, 2013.
He said there are ten (10) harmonised agreements and MoUs out of which three are ready for signature while others would be finalised during the preparatory meetings to be attended by experts from both countries. He highlighted the agreements to include agreement to Fighting Crimes, MoU on Military Cooperation, Tourism, Agreement on Trade Cooperation, MoU on Science and Technology, Higher Education, Sports Cooperation, Cultural Cooperation, Mining Cooperation and others.
In his briefing, the Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Samuel Ortom said the balance of trade between the two countries is in favour of Nigeria and therefore, the need to strengthen the relationship. He noted that in order to strengthen trade; a business council is to be established comprising the private sectors in both countries for enhancing exchange of business ideas and programmes.
The Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade highlighted that meetings have been held in Cote d'Ivoire on MoU to be signed on crime prevention, illegal migration and human trafficking, illegal trade in narcotics, terrorism and others.
Other Ministers who briefed the Vice President were the Ministers of Education and Science and Technology.
Federal Republic Of Nigeria | nigeria.gov.ng
I love the relationship between African countries because it tends to last longer than people expect. Very good one.