President Muhammadu Buhari Saturday in South Africa said that the Peoples
Republic of China remains a strategic and dependable partner in his
administration’s determination to change the direction and content of
governance, including the management of the country’s resources with
priority on accountability, transparency and result-orientation in
governance.
President Buhari stated this in his address at the Roundtable of Chinese
and African Leaders on the last day of the Johannesburg Summit of the
Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). While noting that his
administration has since its inauguration in May this year, embarked upon
the “task of re-focusing our governance on the real needs of the vast
majority of Nigerians,” the President said he was confident that China
“will always stand shoulder to shoulder with us in our quest to fulfill
the aspirations of our people to propel them to prosperity.”
On the 15-year-old FOCAC, President Buhari, who commended the theme of the
Second Summit, “China-Africa Progressing Together: Win-Win Cooperation for
Common Development, expressed the hope that it would “engender the right
platform to engage Africa in all fields of human endeavours such as
provision of essential infrastructure, skills development and capacity
building, diversification of our economies and beneficiation of
resources.”
While identifying with the laudable objectives of FOCAC in cultivating,
fostering and deepening political, economic, technological, social and
other forms of relations between China and Africa, President Buhari
praised China for the vision behind the establishment of FOCAC as a
platform for higher level Africa-China relationship.
According to the Nigerian leader, “Africa expects Chinese investment
flows to the real sector of our economies to promote African enterprises.
Our over-riding objectives are to tackle the challenge of unemployment,
wealth creation, food security and industrialization.”
He also stressed the crucial link between political stability, security
and sustainable development on the African continent. “We are convinced
that Africa can only leverage productively on the potentials of ties with
strategic and development partners in an atmosphere of political stability
and security of lives and property as well as in a policy environment that
guarantees the sanctity of collaborative joint ventures and investment on
the basis of agreed rules and regulations,” President Buhari said.
Drawing the attention of the Summit to the threat posed by global
challenges such as fresh political conflicts, terrorism and other forms of
extremism; trans-border crimes; illegal arms trade; irregular migration
and cybercrimes, he said collective action was required to confront these
new threats to global peace. “These are veritable threats to peace and
security and without peace and security we cannot succeed in our
development objectives,” he stressed.
According to President Buhari, China and Africa must work together to
confront the above threats, as well as the challenge of climate change
“for which Africa remains badly affected with severe threats to food
security and social stability,” in addition to “unacceptable levels of
poverty, unemployment and youth restiveness.”
The President said he looks forward to the Second FOCAC (after China
hosted the first one in 2006) coming out with a clear and sustainable
roadmap for what he described as “this strategic engagement which will be
mutually beneficial to both Africa and China in the efforts at promoting
rapid socio-economic development for” both partners.