Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari Buhari is currently paying a state visit to China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who on Tuesday called for improved cooperation between the two countries. After talks, the two presidents witnessed the signing of several deals of cooperation, including a currency swap agreement which allows importers of goods from China to conclude their transactions in the Chinese currency, the Renminbi (Yuan), instead of the dollar.
President Buhari secured a $6 billion infrastructure loan and a $15 million agricultural assistance fund. China has also promised to increase scholarship awards to Nigerian students to 700 annually from about 100. The Asian powerhouse will also give 1,000 Nigerians vocational and technical training by China annually. Most African countries have relied on China for infrastructural development and it was expected that Buhari’s government would look no further than China to help build infrastructure in Africa’s largest economy.