President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in Shanghai said his administration
will give priority to the building and development of resilient and viable
cities comparable with other developed cities across the globe.
At separate meetings with the Mayor of the Chinese city of Shanghai, Mr.
Yang Xiong and the Director of Shanghai Free Trade Zone, Liu Fangzhou,
President Buhari said the Federal Government would give full support to
Free Trade and Export Processing Zones in the country to spur rapid
economic development.
The President, who visited the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, said Nigeria was
prepared to learn how to make our cities more viable from those that have
achieved development.
“We have already identified the development of infrastructure which will
bring industries that create jobs and help us to diversify the economy.
“We are going to work hard to achieve these within the period we have in
office. Nigerians will see progress and feel the impact,” the President
said.
Commending the hardwork and incredible success story of the city of
Shanghai, President Buhari said the virtues of hard work were central to
every human achievement and development.
In his remarks, the Mayor of Shanghai expressed the willingness of several
Chinese businesses to key into the vision of the Chinese President Xi
Jinping for Africa by investing in Nigeria.
Also speaking, the Director of the Free Trade Zone commended the effort of
the Nigerian government towards the diversification of the economy and
encouraged the country to focus on a favorable policy environment to
encourage foreign investors.