Pascal Arogorn Ibe
Nigeria has opened a discussion with the People’s Republic of China to have access to COVID-19 vaccines.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Geoffery Onyeama, made the disclosure on Tuesday in Abuja shortly after a bilateral meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi. The latter is on a working visit to Nigeria.
The Foreign Affairs Minister who recalled the tremendous assistance the Asian country offered Nigeria in the wake of the outbreak of the deadly virus said Nigeria was looking forward to assistance from China in the area of access to the vaccine.
He said: “We have received a lot of support from China in the area of personal protective equipment that they were very quick to provide us with. And of course, with the vaccine discoveries now, China is also one of those countries that has been able to discover vaccines for COVID-19. So we are also engaging with China to also help with regards to access to vaccines for our people.”
Onyeama who revealed that Nigeria would this year be celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relationship between her and the Peoples Republic of China, said that he discussed how to improve trade relations between the two countries in his closed door meeting with his counterpart from China.
He further disclosed that health issues, particularly the global pandemics topped the discussions.
“In the area of fostering relations, both countries are now considering having a direct flight from Nigeria to China.
“We want to establish a direct air link with China. We hope that very soon, a Nigerian carrier would be carrying out scheduled flights to China in the not too distant future,” he said.
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