Abuja, Dec 4 (IANS/MAP) Morocco and Nigeria have launched a project for the construction of a regional gas pipeline linking the gas resources of Nigeria and several other west African countries to the north African monarchy.
Launching the project on Saturday, Morocco King Mohammed VI and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari also chaired the signing ceremony of 14 cooperation agreements involving the sectors of investment, training, youth capacity-building, hydrocarbons and mining, tourism, banking, finances, insurance and logistics.
At the beginning of the ceremony at the Presidential Palace here, Foreign Ministers of both countries Salaheddine Mezouar and Geoffrey Onyeama read out a joint statement related to the project of building a gas pipeline linking Nigeria to Morocco.
As a major project meant to boost regional economic integration, the pipeline will be designed with the participation of all concerned parties with the aim of speeding up electrification projects in the whole region, serving as a basis to set up a competitive regional market for electricity, the joint statement said.
This is likely to be linked to the European market of energy, to develop integrated industrial hubs in the sub-region in sectors as industry, food-processing and fertilisers, in order to draw foreign capital, improve the competitiveness of exports and spur local transformation of natural resources available for national and international markets, the statement added.
Important business opportunities will be generated by this project for manufacturers and investors, the Ministers said.
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To ensure the full success of this major project, Nigeria and Morocco decided to join hands and cooperate closely through their respective sovereign funds, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority and Ithmar Al Mawarid (ITHMAR CAPITAL).
Director General of Ithmar Al Mawarid (ITHMAR CAPITAL) Tarik Senhaji said this project reflects the vision of the Morocco King for an Africa that has its destiny in hand, adding that Africa has a strong economic potential and boasts unique opportunities for investors.
--IANS/MAP
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