Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has made yet another call for the screening of Nigerian movies in China stressing that the move would reciprocate Nigeria’s gesture towards Chinese movies which are shown in the country.
The minister made the request in Abuja when he received the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria Mr. Zhou PingJian on a courtesy visit. He said the screening of Nollywood movie would also be a deliberate strategy to ensuring better understanding between the two countries and create a market for Nigerian movies in China.
The Minister hailed the bilateral relationship between Nigeria and China which he described as mutual and sincere. He noted that China remained one of the strategic partners of Nigeria because of the genuine commitment and passion towards the country.
He described the partnership between both countries in the area of infrastructural development as a catalyst for domestic tourism in Africa. “I think China is a good example of domestic tourism which could propel and trigger the economy and for domestic tourism to prosper, this is why we are so glad that China is collaborating with Nigeria in the area of infrastructure such as roads, power and railways,” he said.
Mohammed said the cultural ties between the countries could further be strengthened in the areas of film and cinematography.
PingJain on his part said culture and people to people relationship were parts of 10 priority areas which his country was exploring to foster relationship with Nigeria. He added that China had opened discussions with the minister towards the building of Nigeria-China cultural centre in Nigeria to further promote cultural ties.
The minister reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to ease doing business in the country. He said that the bilateral agreement between his ministry and the British Council had yielded fruits with the training of 40 Nigerian Festival Managers by the Council in February.