The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja signed an MoU with Xinhua News Agency to promote the Belt and Road Economic Information Partnership (BREIP) initiative of the Chinese Government.
Mr Guo Jun, the West Africa Bureau Chief, Xinhua News Agency, said the initiative was a business arrangement to compliment the efforts of member countries on the development strategy.
BREIP is a development strategy adopted by the Chinese government involving infrastructure development and investments in 152 countries and international organisations.
Jun said that the idea was also to open and connect markets, resources and capacities to build a platform targeted at enhancing economic information.
“This initiative is mainly business arrangement to open and connect markets to promote economic information.
“The idea is to connect resources and capacities to build Belt and Road platform where partners in the initiative can contribute economic information in their countries.
“The platform will be open to local customers to get whatever information they needed about business and investment opportunities outside their countries,” he said.
The bureau chief said that the ground launch ceremony for the initiative had been slated for June 27 in Beijing.
He said that NAN and Xinhua had over the years enjoyed a cordial partnership, there making NAN the choice for the initiative.
In his remark, Mr Bayo Onanuga, the Managing Director of NAN commended the Chinese Government for the idea and pledged that NAN would support the initiative to ensure its success.
He said the initiative would no doubt protect the interests of countries along the Belt and Road initiative.
Mr Idris Abdurahman, the Editor-in-Chief of NAN said the information exchange was vital in view of Nigeria’s economic interest with China.
“We are particularly impressed and will embrace the initiative to ensure its success because of our interest to protect the economic policies of the two countries,” he said.
