Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari, has assured that Nigeria is ready to boost economic ties with Tanzania for the benefit of citizens of both countries.
He gave the assurance while receiving the Letter of Credence from the High Commissioner of Tanzania to Nigeria, Muhidin Moweto, at the Presidential Villa.
President Buhari said both countries had a lot of potentials which can make them key economic actors in the region.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement said, Buhari congratulated the Government of Tanzania for the recent discovery of gas reserves in the coast region, noting that it offers a lot of opportunities for the country.
”Nigeria and Tanzania have a lot of potentials. We will do our best to improve relations, which dates back to the pre-colonial era,”he said.
In separate remarks, President Buhari who also received the Letter of Credence from the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Nigeria, Lee In-Tae, commended the Korean Government for its education development programmes in the country through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
Earlier the Tanzanian High Commissioner underscored the presence and positive roles of Nigerian firms in his country, particularly in the manufacturing and banking sectors.
”My primary objective is to strengthen and enhance existing relations of both nations and to take our economic ties to a new height. We need more Dangote’s (companies) in Tanzania to help in developing the country,” the High Commissioner said.
The Tanzania envoy conveyed the appreciation of the President of Zanzibar, which is a semi-autonomous region within Tanzania, to President Buhari for the deployment of 41 Nigerians teachers in the region under the Technical Aid Corps (TAC) programme of Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
”The teachers are doing very well,” Moweto said, appealing for the deployment of more Nigerian teachers to Tanzania.
In his remarks, the Korean Ambassador praised Nigeria’s new economic plans encapsulated under Economic Growth and Recovery Plan (EGRP), which among others targets 7 per cent GDP growth rate in Nigeria by 2020.