Nigerian High Commissioner Ashimiyu A.Olaniyi has stressed upon the need to further strengthening agricultural, academia, and research ties between both countries in order to ensure food security and rural development.

He visited the University of Agriculture Faisalabad on Friday and called on UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Zafar Iqbal Randhawa along with deans and directors at Syndicate Room, UAF. He said Pakistan and Nigeria were enjoying good relations. The contribution of agriculture in Pakistan Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is around 21 percent whereas in the agriculture of Nigerian GDP, it is 23 percent. He said his country was having several agricultural universities and research institutes in which collaborations will help address common agricultural challenges and to learn from each others. Our country is a natural oil and gas producing country whereas it is blessed with the good agricultural produces. He said that collaboration especially in cotton, and textile need to be further cemented to get benefit from each other experiences. He said that UAF is very famous university and center of excellence in agriculture and played a role in the food security .