Nigeria and China have signed a grant agreement worth RMB200 million, about $30 million, to pay for community development projects, the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning said on Sunday.
Budget and Economic Planning Minister Abubakar Bagudu and Chinese Ambassador Yu Dunhai signed the agreement in Abuja on Thursday, the Chinese embassy said. The ministry said the grant would fund projects agreed by both governments under China’s “small but beautiful” initiative, which backs small schemes that benefit local communities directly.
The ministry is working with the Nigeria–China Strategic Partnership Office to develop projects proposed by state governments, Bagudu said. He said the aim was for agreements between the two countries to bring measurable improvements in people’s living conditions.
Bagudu linked the grant to the federal government’s Renewed Hope Ward Development Plan, which aims to identify economic opportunities across Nigeria’s 8,809 wards. Training Nigerian officials in China is also part of the cooperation, he said.
Yu said the grant followed agreements reached between President Bola Tinubu and President Xi Jinping. He said trade between the two countries reached $18 billion in the first half of this year, and that Nigerian exports to China rose by 80 per cent.
China’s zero-tariff policy on Nigerian exports took effect on 1 May. Yu said it is due to end on 1 May 2028, and urged both countries to work towards a longer-term economic partnership agreement.
The ministry has not said which projects or states will benefit first, or when work will start.
Sources: Embassy of China in Nigeria; Blueprint; Punch
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