The Federal Government has stated that the Nigeria-Republic of Niger railway project would boost trade and other socio-economic interactions between the two countries.
A statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations at the Ministry of Transport, Henshaw Ogubike, said the minister in charge of the ministry, Mu’azu Sambo, said as much in Abuja at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on the project between Nigeria and the Republic of Niger on Thursday.
Sambo noted that the railway line, which will start in Kano State in Nigeria and end at Maradi in the Republic of Niger, will facilitate the realization of the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, to which Nigeria and the Republic of Niger are signatories. .
“I am aware that people have blood relations across borders. Therefore, the project will enhance the historical cultural relationship between the people of Nigeria and those of the Republic of Niger. The project is also very important to improve international and continental trade”.
He said that a technical committee would be established within seven days in accordance with Article 3 of the MoU, adding that the nomination of members and the inauguration of the technical committee would conclude in the first week of February 2023.
Sambo further said that after the inauguration, the technical committee would take over the facilitation and implementation of the project.
Speaking earlier, the Minister of Transport of the Republic of Niger, Alma Oumarou, corroborated Sambo, saying that the railway project will strengthen cultural ties between the two countries and create jobs.
In her welcome speech, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, said that work had been underway on the Kano-Maradi railway line for the past two years, adding that the signing of the MoU would speed up the completion of the Project. Project.
