Nigeria, Poland vow to strengthen ties with Memorandum of Understanding on agriculture
Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari and his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Agriculture to strengthen economic collaborations 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 establishing diplomatic relations between the countries in 1961.
President Muhammadu Buhari emphasized at a news conference that Nigeria is gratified by the fruitful cooperation with Poland in maritime, education and defence.
On agriculture, which is one of the priority areas of the Nigerian government, he said cooperation would be a win-win for the two countries, mainly due to global food insecurity caused by the conflict in Ukraine.
Buhari stated that in the face of numerous global challenges, Nigeria demands to develop new cooperation mechanisms, including regular strategic dialogues and political consultations, to address not only bilateral relations but also 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 with which Poland has signed an agreement for strategic dialogue, including 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.
