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Ogun State Govenor Otunba Gbenga Daniel
and Mr. Guo Shuyu ,Director General of
Shandong Provincial Economic and Information
Technology Committee at the signing of
agrement for the establishment of an
indutrial garden in Ogun State .
The growing bilateral economic relationship
between Ogun State and the Shandong Province
of China has further been consummated with
the visit of Chinese leading businessmen and
economic leaders from the region and the
commencement of the development of an
industrial garden. The economic delegation
which ended its three day visit to Ogun
State on December 8, 2010 came to cement
investment deals in paper and pulp
manufacturing, solar energy, winery, cassava
processing and hospitality.
The delegation led by Mr. Guo Shuyu
,Director General of Shandong Provincial
Economic and Information Technology
Committee ,came under the auspices of the
Ogun Shandong Business Council which was
established last year when the Ogun State
Governor Otunba Gbenga Daniel led an
economic delegation to China on an
investment drive. The executive secretary of
the Council, Mathew Li, said they were in
Ogun to do a follow up on the various
understanding reached when the Governor
visited Shandong, one of China’s provincial
economic giants. He said during the visit
they explored business and investment
opportunities and also began preliminary
works on the industrial garden which is
being developed in the Ikenne axis of the
state.
Otunba Lawal Tunji Solarin, the Executive
director, of the Ogun Shandong Business
Council said the visit was a milestone as
the mutually beneficial economic
relationship between both states has now
been firmly established. He said business
men from Ogun State could take advantage of
this when they are in China as the office of
the council in Jinan, Shandong was already
operational while the counterpart office at
OPIC building, Abeokuta has also been
opened.
Addressing the delegation which included
Mr. Du Wenbin ,General Manager of Shandong
Hotel and member of the ruling party in
Shandong, Mr. Li Yuanxi ,Engineer of
Shandong Provincial Light Industry Design
Institute , 20 other Chinese business
leaders and their Ogun State
counterparts led by Are Kola Oyefeso , Chief
Funlola Okunowo and Apagun Oluwole
Olumide, Governor Daniel said Ogun was
already reaping bountifully from its
strategic economic relationships with
provinces in China. He said he was aware
that the province of Shandong would do
business with people with strong
governmental support. He said it was this
realization that informed facilitation and
firm support which his government was giving
the business council.
He therefore appealed to businessmen of Ogun
extraction to partner their counterparts
from China and reap the fruits of the
bilateral relationship. He said to
facilitate the quick take off of the Garden
his government has commenced the dualisation
of the Ikenne- Sagamu road. He said the his
government
was concerned about generating job
for the thousands of university graduates
who are churned out annually through the
private sector since government cannot
create employment for all those looking for
Job. He said going by the success of the
Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone in Igbesa
where industries have already employed over
5000 indigenes of Ogun State, the
relationship with the Shandong province and
the Industrial Garden when fully developed
would be hugely beneficial to Ogun State in
the area of employment generation and
economic development.
The Ogun-Shandong Business Council is
entirely a private sector initiative
co-sponsored by the Ogun and Shandong
governments. It is established
towardspromoting, protecting, and developing
all matters affecting commerce, industry and
other businesses within the purview of the
relationship between Ogun State and the
Province of Shandong.
Adegbenro Adebanjo Chief Press Secretary
to the Governor
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