Visiting President Hu Jintao met in Abuja yesterday with Kenechukwu Nnamani, president of the Senate, and Aminu Masari, speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria's National Assembly.

 

During the meeting, they exchanged views on enhancing the two countries' relations, as well as expanding activities between legislative organizations of the two countries.

 

Hu, who had arrived here earlier on April 26 from Morocco, said Sino-Nigerian relations were undergoing comprehensive development, and that the two countries had reached a consensus on building a strategic partnership with mutual political trust, economic reciprocity and mutual assistance in international affairs.

 

The two countries had made great progress in cooperation in areas including agriculture, energy, electricity, infrastructural construction and telecommunications, Hu said, adding that Nigeria had become one of the China's most important economic and trade partners in Africa.

 

Hu stressed that China was willing to work together with Nigeria to take the two countries' strategic partnership to a new level. He added that his government hoped the two countries' legislatures would continue their exchanges and increase personnel exchanges.

 

The two leaders of Nigeria's National Assembly said the Nigerian people warmly welcomed the president's visit, adding that the National Assembly would facilitate cooperation between two countries' enterprises in terms of legal issues, and that they were willing to enhance exchanges between legislatures and boost the strategic partnership between the two countries.

 

Nigeria is the fourth leg of Hu's five-nation tour, which has already taken him to the United States, Saudi Arabia and Morocco, and will also take him to Kenya.

 

(Xinhua News Agency April 28, 2006)