The Belgian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Daniel Bertrand, has
said that the Belgian government supports the federal government with £5
million annually, to tackle the humanitarian crisis in the North-East.
The Ambassador made this known on Wednesday in Abuja, when
he visited the Managing Director of the North East Development Commission
(NEDC), Mr. Mohammed Alkali.
Betrand said the purpose of the visit was to know better
what the commission is doing and the challenges being faced and how the Belgian
government can be of help.
According to him, “Belgium is deeply involved in humanitarian
assistance in the North-Eastern part of the country. I personally visited Borno
State twice and I wanted to better know the organization and to know what we
can do together. Belgium has a strong interest in developing its bilateral
relations with Nigeria – Business, commerce, human relationship.
Betrand further pointed out that what is happening in the
Sahel region has a great impact on Nigeria, especially in the North-East and
vice versa.
“We are very active and we are at the disposal of the Nigerian
authority to do better. We are supporting the Nigerian government financially
in terms of humanitarian support.”
When asked how much the Belgian government has given Nigeria
in tackling the humanitarian crisis in the North-East, Bertrand added, “I think
it is more or less £5 million a year.”
Also, Alkali said the visit of the ambassador was a sign
that the commission was ready to work with all the partners, either in
humanitarian or development towards having peace in the North-East.
He said by the end of this quarter, the commission would
formally launch its masterplan for development of the North-East.
Alkali said: “Peace is returning, but we still have the
hangover of the humanitarian crisis. When it started, people were in camps, but
now that they are going back to their homes, they are definitely going to meet
another crisis in terms of how to settle down.
“In that case, we hope the Belgian government will continue
its humanitarian support to us,” he added.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com