September 12, (THEWILL) — The Federal Government has facilitated a twinning agreement between Bayelsa State and Namibe Province of Angola, aimed at boosting socio-economic and cultural development.
It also brokered a similar economic cooperation deal between Nasarawa State and Bengo Province of Angola.
According to a statement on Friday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Bayelsa State Governor, Daniel Alabrah, the agreements formed part of activities at the fifth Nigeria-Angola Bilateral Joint Economic Commission meeting, which held in Luanda, the Angolan capital, after being dormant for 24 years.
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Bianca Ojukwu, signed on behalf of the Federal Government, while Angola’s Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Amb. Domingos Custodio Vieira Lopes, represented his country.
Governor Douye Diri signed for Bayelsa, with his Namibe counterpart, Dr. Archer Mangueira, also signing on behalf of his province.
The deal covers cooperation in economic and environmental development, urban management, agricultural manpower training, energy, education, culture, tourism, sports, and citizenship relations between local communities.
Speaking after the signing, Diri described the agreement as “historic,” recalling that it built on his earlier exploratory visit to Namibe earlier in the year.
He said, “Signing this important agreement between our two countries and two states is very historic for us in Bayelsa, coming at a time our host, Angola, was marking its 50th independence anniversary.
Both Bayelsa and Namibe are naturally endowed and there is so much we can do that would be mutually beneficial to us as states and to our countries.”
The Bayelsa governor thanked the Federal Government for including the state in the bilateral arrangement and praised the Angolan government for its hospitality.
Mangueira, on his part, hailed the agreement as the beginning of a milestone cooperation between both states, stressing their shared geographical and economic features.
He said, “This agreement provides an opportunity to establish areas of comparative advantage. We have common geographical features with Bayelsa, and we welcome this partnership.”
Earlier, Ojukwu and Lopes lauded both nations for reviving the joint commission after more than two decades.
Amos Okioma is a Correspondent at THEWILL
