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Korea Seeks Pact With Nigeria Over Housing
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has signified its interest to partner with Nigeria in housing and urban development.
The Korean High Commissioner to Nigeria , Jong Hak Se, gave the indication in Abuja when he paid a visit to the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Nduese Essien.
He said that '' Korea and Nigeria have had a robust diplomatic relations in some critical sectors like agriculture and there is a similarity in the 2011 policy direction of the two governments.''
Stressing that Korea wants to explore more possible areas of co-operation with Nigeria, Jong recalled that in the 90 's when the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was being built, Korean engineers were involved in the designing and building of some of the structures but regretted that the project had been stalled.
The envoy, who noted that there are still some on-going projects in the area of agriculture where Korean nationals are offering their expertise, said that there is a growing demand for housing worldwide as the sector was important to the social life of the people.
“I have followed with keen interest the efforts being made by the present administration especially in the power and education sectors as well as in trying to make Nigeria one of the 20 largest economies of the world by 2020.”
The Minister said that the ministry was ready to co-operate with Korea in the areas of housing development and delivery, exchange of ideas and technology for the overall benefit of the people of the two countries.
Essien told the Ambassador that Korea and Nigeria shared a lot of similarities in their programmes for 2011 with priority attention to be given to areas that would enhance job creation, of which the building sector is one.
Noting that Korea is quite ahead of Nigeria in the area of housing development, the minister said that Nigeria had about 16 million housing deficit, hence the need for the two countries to share experiences in a manner that would enhance the existing ties between them.
NP/Margaret/Yinka
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