The Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai, has met with the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Professor Simon Uchenna Ortuanya.
The meeting focused on strengthening educational ties between China and Nigeria.
During the meeting, Ambassador Yu Dunhai highlighted the progress in bilateral cooperation between China and Nigeria since the 2024 meeting between President Xi Jinping and President Bola Tinubu. He noted that educational exchanges have continued to produce positive results and serve as an important bridge for cultural understanding and people-to-people relations. He praised the Vice Chancellor for this ground breaking strides in the University of Nigeria.
The ambassador also emphasised the Chinese Embassy’s commitment to facilitating collaboration between Chinese and Nigerian universities to support the growth of the China-Nigeria Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Professor Ortuanya welcomed the ambassador and expressed the university’s readiness to deepen academic and research cooperation with Chinese institutions. The University of Nigeria, Nsukka, is one of the country’s leading federal universities and has been actively seeking international partnerships to enhance teaching, research, and student exchange programmes.
Both parties discussed areas of potential collaboration, including joint research projects, staff and student exchanges, and capacity-building initiatives.
Education has become an increasingly important pillar of China-Nigeria relations in recent years. Several Nigerian students are currently studying in China under various scholarship programmes, while Chinese universities have also shown growing interest in partnerships with Nigerian institutions.
The meeting comes at a time when both countries are working to expand cooperation beyond oil and infrastructure into areas such as education, technology, agriculture, and human capital development.
