The federal government of Nigeria and the People’s Republic of China have expressed interest in collaborating on humanitarian affairs and poverty reduction.

This is contained in a statement by Iliya Isyaku, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction in Abuja, on Thursday.

Mr Isyaku said the two countries expressed their intentions when the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai, paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Yusuf Sununu, in Abuja on Thursday.

The minister, while discussing potential areas of collaboration on poverty reduction and humanitarian affairs between Nigeria and China, acknowledged the good intentions of the Chinese government in partnering with the ministry.

Mr Sununu expressed Nigeria’s eagerness to learn from China’s experiences, highlighting the humanitarian challenges in Nigeria, which include acute malnutrition in children, internally displaced persons, refugees, and climate change, among others.

He noted areas of possible collaboration, including durable solutions, partnering in skills to wealth training programmes, and capacity building for the ministry’s staff, particularly frontline workers, on poverty reduction and prompt response in humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations.

Responding, the Chinese ambassador to Nigeria stated that both countries shared a lot in common in terms of population, saying China had about 1.4 billion people as of last year.

Mr Dunhai disclosed that China had suffered from issues of hunger in the past, adding that the country had made much progress in addressing these challenges.

The ambassador highlighted China’s experience in lifting millions of people out of poverty and expressed his country’s willingness to share expertise with Nigeria.

He noted that addressing poverty required comprehensive investment in food security, agriculture, industrialisation, education, security, and developmental stability.

According to him, the Chinese Embassy is ready to partner with the ministry to achieve common goals.

The permanent secretary in the ministry, Yakubu Kofarmata, thanked the ambassador for the visit and his country’s interest in partnering with the ministry in areas such as humanitarian affairs, poverty reduction, and staff capacity training.

(NAN)