A strong cooperation among African countries is a key factor in accelerating economic, infrastructure development and food sufficiency on the continent.
The Tunisian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mohsen Antit, said this in Abuja at a dinner with the Nigerian business community.
Mr Antit, noted that Africa is the future and that the people of the continent must join hands to develop it. He added that as much as African nations must have ties with nations from other continents, it is much more important for Africans to have stronger ties among themselves and cooperate to build the continent stronger as richer.
He reiterated the commitment of his country towards deepening Nigerian-Tunisian ties.
“Our focus is on relationships with African nations. Because we believe that Africa is the future, therefore it’s high time we started serious cooperation and investment in ourselves. We must create a new stronger relationship among ourselves. So as a country, Tunisian priority as of today is Africa. But this does not mean we will only cooperate with non African countries.”
He also said, “Economic cooperation between Nigeria and Tunisia is very important for us. The future we are hoping for can only benefit our people if we cooperate with each other as brothers and sisters. The future of Africa requires serious economic cooperation between African countries in different possible forms. It requires asking questions of what to do for our people and generations to come.
“So we need to start a win-win relationship, encouraging businessmen and women in Tunisia to invest in Nigeria and likewise.
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“I am here to work for the interest of our relationship. It is very important we enhance our relationship and explore the areas we can benefit from each other.”
Furthermore, he said; For example. Nigeria is such a wealthy country both in mineral resources and manpower. It has all it takes to enjoy steady power supply and even make so much money by supplying other countries in Africa. It is a rich country and should profit from its wealth. So Tunisia has many specialists and experts who can help Nigeria solve electricity problems.”
On visa processes, he said; “I am going to have discussions and work out arrangements and agreements with the government of Nigeria on the subject. We should be able to have some agreements that will reduce the stiffness on the issue of visas for our citizens.”
He also said; “Agriculture is one sector that is very important to both our countries. We can seriously work together and learn from each other. In fact we are very keen to deal with Nigeria especially in the agricultural sector. We have developed sophisticated methods of farming varieties of agro products and I think we can share that knowledge with Nigeria. The good thing is that Nigeria has good lands and water. Across Nigeria, there are different types of lands and soils where you can grow all sorts of crops, vegetables, and fruits.
“So we are keen to advance the Nigeria-Tunisian relationship and work for the interest of our people and Africans at large. We are going to work to have an airline between Tunis and Abuja. This is because without an air travel link, commerce and other economic activities will not thrive.”
