Geoffrey Onyeama: Minister says Nigeria signs bilateral agreements with France

The minister stated that the agreements included three with government’s agencies and two for the private sector.

Nigeria and France have signed five bilateral agreements on Cultural, Scientific Education and Technical Cooperation, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama said on Saturday.

Onyeama, who made this known to State House correspondents in Abuja, said the five bilateral agreements were signed in a closed-door meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and the visiting French President, Francois Hollande.

The meeting was held at the Presidential Villa

The minister stated that the agreements included three with government’s agencies and two for the private sector.

``There was an MoU for the cultural, scientific education and technical cooperation and this was between the French government and Nigerian government.

``There was MoU between the French Development Agency and the Federal Ministry of Finance.

``There was another agreement between the Finance Ministry and this was with the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria.

``So, those are the three agreements with government’s institutions and there were two private sector agreements.

``There was one again with the French Development Agency and Zenith Bank, which was represented by its chairman, among other,’’ he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the French President Francois Hollande also confirmed the signing of the agreements during a joint news conference with President Muhammadu Buhari after the closed door bilateral meeting between Nigeria and France.