Nigerien president meets Chinese foreign minister

Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou met with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi here on Wednesday and discussed with him on friendly relations between their two nations. President Issoufou said that Foreign Minister Yang's visit to Niger at the beginning of the year shows the importance that China attaches to its relations with Niger and Africa. Niger also attaches great importance to the friendly relations with China which has played an important role in the international affairs. Issoufou said, Niger and China have enjoyed close political and economic ties and his country would like to actively create conditions for Chinese enterprises to invest in Niger, to strengthen cooperation with China in the field of economy and infrastructure, as well as to reinforce its coordination with China in the United Nations and other multilateral affairs. On his part, Foreign Minister Yang said China and Niger have a relationship of mutual trust and equal treatment politically, close coordination in international affairs, and cooperation in economy and trade that has gained fruitful achievements. He noted that China regards Niger as one of its important cooperation partners in West Africa. The cooperation between the two countries conforms to the fundamental and long-term interests of the two nations and the two peoples, and the Sino-Nigerien friendly relations have a great potential and prospects. Yang said China would like to join hands with Niger to boost political trust, expand pragmatic cooperation in economic, trade and other fields, enrich people-to-people exchanges and strengthen cooperation and exchanges in various areas to push the friendly cooperation relations to a higher level. Yang arrived in Niamey on Wednesday for an official visit to Niger. On the same day, Yang held talks with Bazoum Mohamed, Niger's minister of state in charge of foreign affairs, cooperation, African integration and overseas Nigeriens.