By Ibrahim Shuaibu
KANO, Nigeria (AA) - Nigeria and Poland signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on agriculture Tuesday, while pledging to enlarge economic cooperation in the energy and manufacturing sectors.
A ceremony in the Nigerian capital of Abuja took place during a visit by Polish President Andrezej Duda, the first by a Polish leader since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries in 1961.
President Muhammadu Buhari said at a news conference that Nigeria is gratified by the fruitful cooperation with Poland in maritime, education and defense.
On agriculture, which is one of the priority areas of the Nigerian government, he said cooperation will be a win-win for the two countries, especially in the context of global food insecurity caused by the conflict in Ukraine.
Buhari noted that given numerous global challenges, Nigeria would like to develop new mechanisms for cooperation including regular strategic dialogues and political consultations to cover not only bilateral relations but to address regional and international issues.
He described Duda’s visit as significant and commended efforts by the Polish government to assist the large number of refugees fleeing Ukraine, including a significant number of Nigerians.
Buhari welcomed a meeting that will bring together various members of the business sectors of Nigeria and Poland, during the visit, adding that it is an excellent initiative to increase trade between the countries.
Duda said Nigeria was the only African country Poland has signed an agreement with for strategic dialogue, which includes the agriculture deal.
“What was pivotal in our conversation today both in our tete-a-tete as well as the plenary session was how to provide food and energy security,” he said through an interpreter. “It is important to us to strengthen the relations between Poland and Nigeria and the MOU we have signed is very important for the future of both nations on food security.”
Regarding energy, he lauded the delivery of liquefied natural gas to Poland from Nigeria, as well as shipments of crude oil.
“We want to further this cooperation and we want to increase the supplies from Nigeria to Poland and in this way we want to contribute to the development of economic cooperation between the two countries,” he said.
Duda noted that Nigeria and Poland have enjoyed excellent bilateral relations in the last 60 years, buoyed at the people-to-people level with the presence of Nigerians at Polish higher institutions of learning as well as the input of Polish engineers and scientists in the building of infrastructure in Nigeria.