The Kano State Government has sought the partnership of the Arab Republic of Egypt in the areas of education, healthcare, commerce and other sectors of the economy of the state.
The Senior Special Assistant on Inter-governmental and Foreign Affairs to Governor Abba Kabir-Yusuf, Abdullahi Ahmad-Namama, sought the partnership on Monday during a courtesy visit to the Egyptian embassy in Abuja.
According to Mr Ahmad-Namama, the partnership would further cement the existing relationship between the state and the Arab country.
While lamenting that Kano people often encounter difficulties in accessing travelling visa to Egypt, the governor’s aide urged the Embassy to look into the situation.
He said: “We would also use this unique opportunity to inform Your Excellency that people from Kano are finding it sometimes difficult in accessing travelling Visa to the Arab Republic of Egypt.
“This situation is hampering the smooth undertaking of trade and business activities, considering that all visa request from people of Kano are either on business or medical purposes we hope that the Ambassador will look into this problem.”
Mr Ahmad-Namama also called on the Egyptian investors to invest in Kano, being the center of commerce in the country.
“We also like to call on the Ambassador to also encourage Egyptian professionals, especially medical doctors to come to Kano and partner with the state indigenes in health, by building and managing hospitals that will assist our people from going abroad for medical tourism.
“Of recent, that is some 10 – 20 years back, people from Nigeria, mostly from Kano opened a new window in patronizing Egyptian Health facilities and Hospitals whereby hundreds of patients went for medical treatment of certain ailments and came back home successfully treated.
“These and many more prompted His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, to charge all his appointees to seek for partnership with relevant bodies aimed at building a bridge of relationship for the benefit of the two parties,” he added.
Responding, the representative of the Egyptian Ambassador to Nigeria expressed readiness to partner with the state government.
The Embassy also acknowledged some of the visa processing challenges being faced by applicants from Kano, saying that efforts were on to resolve some of the challenges.
“Most applicants don’t meet our requirements for visa approval. We are even planning to pay a visit to the governor in that regard,” said the Ambassador.
NAN
