From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai, has said that education holds the key to the national economic and social development of Nigeria.
Yu stated this during the Chinese Corner Inauguration Ceremony and the Nihao China Painting Competition Awards Ceremony at the Government Secondary School, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja.
He also said that country-to-country relations eventually boiled down to people-to-people relations, adding that students are the future of the country.
Yu further said education holds the key for the development of any country, saying that China has learnt from its experience.
He recalled that in 1980, each year, people that took high-level education in China were roughly 100,000 per year, but by the year 2000, it reached roughly 1,000,000 per year and currently, particularly last year, it clocked 10,000,000 high-level education graduates each year.
“I believe that high-level education contributed to China’s development over the past 40 years. So, you can see the increase is almost 10 times over the past 20, 40 years.
“And I think for Nigeria, education also holds the key to the national economic and social development,” Yu said.
The Chinese Envoy disclosed that China would like to partner with Nigeria in the education sector.
He stated that during President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s very successful visit to China in September, the two presidents reached important agreements to elevate the bilateral relations between both countries to a new height and among the very consensus, one of them was to increase the high-level education exchanges between both countries.
“So, I would like to assure you that in the future, the Chinese Embassy would like to contribute more to build more Chinese Corners across Abuja and we would like to provide more opportunities for teachers and students to visit China and to train in China,” Yu also said.
Yu further expressed the hope that the teachers and students in the Chinese Corner will be messengers of friendship between both countries.
Earlier, Yu said it was a great honour to attend the ceremony of the 13th Chinese Corner in a secondary school in Abuja.
He disclosed that the Chinese Harbour Engineering Corporation contributed to the building of the latest Chinese Corner in Abuja.
Yu further said over the past ten years, under the cooperation of the Embassy of China and the Federal Capital Territory Centenary School Board, the Chinese Government has built many Chinese Corners around Abuja.
He hailed the latest Chinese Corner, saying it was equipped with computers, Chinese books, Chinese movies and so many Chinese elements.
Also speaking, the Director of Bilateral Cooperation, Education Secretariat, Federal Capital Territory Administration, Paul Ejeh, said for decades, both countries have enjoyed a deep and fruitful friendship built on mutual respect, cooperation and shared development goals.
He stated that China’s commitment to Nigeria’s growth is evident in various sectors, including education, infrastructure, economy, et cetera.
“This Chinese Corner symbolises our desire to foster cultural understanding and people-to-people connections.
“This dedicated space, the Chinese Corner, will facilitate as a vibrant hub for language learning, cultural immersion and exchange programme,” Ejeh said.
