Ｇｏｏｄｗｉｌｌ Ｍｅｓｓａｇｅ ｏｎ ｔｈｅ Ｏｃｃａｓｉｏｎ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ ５０ｔｈ Ａｎｎｉｖｅｒｓａｒｙ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ Ｅｓｔａｂｌｉｓｈｍｅｎｔ ｏｆ Ｄｉｐｌｏｍａｔｉｃ Ｒｅｌａｔｉｏｎ

On this auspicious occasion for China and Africa， I express warmest felicitations to the peoples of our two great and friendly continents as we celebrate fifty years of friendship and thirty five years of diplomatic relations between Nigeria and China.

The two continents have witnessed steady， albeit， slow development in their ordinarily friendly relationships， characterised by common struggles against external domination and common desires to escape from hostile and oppressive geographical and social circumstances.

The two peoples have found satisfaction in doing mini commercial activities and exchanging their know-how and knowledge in several areas of human endeavour.The benefit of the patience and solidarity with each other over the past 50 years have earned them today the special status of strategic partners in various developmental programmes that would see the two continents and peoples through， and out of poverty and under-development within a decade， hence， if not earlier.

Fifty golden years of sincere friendship and cooperation are indeed， a fulfilled life-time of an individual or of a nation.These years have produced greatest minds and leaders from Africa who had thought it fit to associate their respective countries with the great and friendly nation of China， which has also not hesitated in welcoming and extending its resources to African nations that need China’s help.

I， therefore， seize this unique opportunity to salute leaders from Africa such as: Nnamdi Azikiwe and Tafawa Balewa of Nigeria， Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana， Julius Nyerere of Tanzania， Sekou Touré of Guinea， Modibbo Keita of Mali， Abdel Gamel Nasser of Egypt， Agostino Neto of Angola， Samora Machel of Mozambique， to mention just a few， and from China: Chairman Mao Zedong， Premier Zhou Enlai， Deng Xiaoping， Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao， for their foresight and courage in guiding Africa’s relationship with China， both in their distressful political evolution and in their very long and painful periods of structural reforms.

The travails and bitter struggles of the Chinese people have left them stronger， resolute， disciplined and united， which qualities are worthy of emulation， especially by all African countries presently going through similar difficulties， political and social adjustments.The example of China can only be reassuring and comforting in the sense that， the new partnership with friendly China， would transfer a lot of the knowledge and know-how about people-oriented， poverty-reduction programmes， as well as technological know-how that would assist Africa to achieve the minimum of Millennium Development Goal by the agreed deadline.

The efforts of our leaders in Africa and Asia these past 50 years， be it at the United Nations， Non-Aligned Movement， South-South Cooperation Forum and now， in the new Sino-African Forum are laudable.They have yielded the desired political understanding and， therefore， genuine friendship， which are now being translated to economic programmes and partnerships between the two continents.It is a welcome development and the best dividend of cooperation between peoples from varied backgrounds and culture， whose destinies have been practically similar.

With particular reference to Sino-Nigerian relations， friendship between our two Presidents and the political leadership of the two countries has yielded increased cooperation in multiple proportions， and investments in the following areas: Agriculture， Construction， Engineering and Science Studies， Oil and Gas， Telecommunications， etc..It is amazing that the volume of Trade which was less than 1 billion U.S. dollars in 2002， has reached about 3 billion U.S. dollars by the middle of year 2006.This is a great achievement and is only the beginning because there are yet abundant areas to be explored in the African soil and environment， such as in mining， aerospace technology and biotechnology， to mention a few.

The relations between Nigeria and China can only grow stronger and wider for mutual benefits.While Nigeria and other African countries possess extensive and untapped mineral deposits and other natural resources， China has the appropriate technology to explore， extract and exploit the resources for China’s domestic needs.Therefore， African countries and China are in a position to complement themselves in terms of natural products， solid minerals， and transformation technology.

Long Live the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries!

Long Live Sino-African Friendship and Cooperation!

Long Live Nigeria-China Relations!

The author is Nigerian ambassador to China.