French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday congratulated Nigerians as the country celebrates 61 years of being an independent nation.

This is contained in a letter he wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Macron said, “You know my personal attachment to the relationship between France and Nigeria, the continent’s leading economic and demographic power. I firmly believe that it is in the mutual interest of our two countries to strengthen this relationship on all fronts.

“Since my visit in July 2018, the ties between our two countries have continued to strengthen, especially in the economic field. I was happy to welcome you in Paris on May 1 8th on the occasion of your participation in the Summit on the financing of African economies. The creation of the Franco-Nigerian Business Council, which met last June at the Palace of Versailles, will, I hope, allow the birth of many structuring projects between French and Nigerian companies.

“The number of Nigerian students present in France has been increasing at a sustained rate over the past three years, and I am delighted that they can contribute to the growth of Nigeria and the development of ties between our two countries.

“Finally, the participation in a few days of young Nigerian artists, entrepreneurs and creators in the New Africa-France Summit in Montpellier will make it possible to intensify the exchanges between French and Nigerian civil society.”
He added that “we can do even more together, because France and Nigeria share many common interests, both on regional and security issues and on global issues. I, therefore, hope that our countries will intensify their exchanges on all these subjects.”.

TodayNG