LAHORE: A seven-member delegation of Federal Republic of Nigeria met the caretaker chief minister and discussed different matters of mutual interest including promotion of Pakistan-Nigeria relations in different sectors and arrangements of upcoming elections in Pakistan.
The delegation led by acting Director General of National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies Jonathan Mela Juma called on Chief Minister Dr Hasan Askari at his office on Tuesday. Talking on the occasion, Dr Askari hoped that visit of Nigerian delegation will usher in the start of a new era of bilateral cooperation as tremendous opportunities exist to further expand trade and economic relations between the two countries.
In this regard, bilateral relations should be further strengthened at the level of chambers of commerce and industry as trade and commerce relations can be further boosted through the exchange of business delegations. He said Punjab is an agrarian province and its economy is mostly based on agriculture. Pakistan and Nigeria can further improve their relations by reviewing opportunities of mutual cooperation, he added.
Talking in the backdrop of menace of terrorism and extremism, Dr Askari said terrorism is a serious challenge for Pakistan and the international community. Pakistan has faced the menace of terrorism bravely and the armed forces, law enforcement agencies and police officials have written a new history of bravery by sacrificing their precious lives in this crusade. Nigeria is also facing the monster of extremism and I am of the opinion that both the countries are facing the challenge of changing the mindset for overcoming terrorism and extremism. Both the countries can also benefit from each other’s experiences for eradicating terrorism and extremism, he added. He said terrorism and extremism can be routed by solving socio-economic issues of people. He said majority of population in Pakistan consists of the youth and therefore, providing better employment opportunities to them is a national obligation.
Talking about CPEC project, Dr Askari said Pakistan is providing best communication set-up from China to Gwadar through this project.
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