ABUJA, June 13 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian government on Tuesday said it will harness Chinese technology to improve and attract more foreign investors to its mining sector.
Speaking at the opening of Nigeria's maiden annual mining summit in Abuja, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, said that a memorandum of understanding and a technical cooperation agreement had already been signed by the two countries.
He said the Nigerian government intended to leverage the expertise and state-of-the-art technology of China to achieve its aims for the sector.
Particularly, Osinbajo said China could help Nigeria to generate investor-friendly geoscience data toward repositioning the extractive sector.
The Nigerian mining sector roughly contributes about 3 percent to the country's current Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but the government is working on a long-term goal to grow the mining sector's contribution, he said.
"Further, to encourage new entrants and more investors, the federal government is working to ensure the implementation of a three-year tax holiday for new investors in the mining sector," he added.
Meanwhile, Nigeria has domesticated the Africa Mining Vision (AMV) and its provisions in the roadmap for the development of the mining sector, an official noted.
During the Abuja summit, Kayode Fayemi, the West African country's minister of mines and steel development, said one of the government's priority goals is to position the mining sector to play a greater role in the sustainable diversification of the revenue base, creating jobs, and fast-tracking industrialization.
The African Mining Vision was adopted in Feb. 2009, during the African Union Summit.
More than 40 global construction and mining equipment manufacturers and suppliers, converged on the Nigerian capital city for the ongoing three-day summit and exhibition.
The summit is expected to give participants a chance to source new machinery for construction and mine sites, in addition to creating the opportunity to learn from experts in the field how to be more efficient as well as discuss key points affecting the industry.
