The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has urged the Chinese authorities to facilitate the showing of Nigerian films on television and in cinemas across the Asian country as part of efforts to strengthen the relations between the two countries.
The Minister made the call in Beijing on Tuesday when he paid a courtesy visit to the Chinese Vice Minister of State for Radio, Television and Film, Wu Shangzhi, in his office.
He also called for the immediate implementation of the co-production agreement signed between Nigeria and China, and the sharing of experience in combatting piracy of movies.
Alhaji Mohammed promised that under his watch, the existing cooperation between Nigeria and China in the areas of information and culture would be strengthened while new vistas of opportunities would be opened for the benefit of both nations.
He called for a new era of “strong personal relationship” to facilitate the implementation of signed agreements “so we can move from the level of mere signing (of pacts) to that of implementation.”
Responding, Mr. Wu said his country is ‘’very willing’’ to strengthen the cooperation with Nigeria, especially in the area of films, adding that the two channels of showing movies in his country, television and cinemas, would be explored for Nigerian films.
“We can also co-produce (films) and show in our two countries,” he said, while accepting the proposal by the Nigerian Minister to have a focal person to facilitate the implementation of the agreements that have been signed by the two countries.
The Minister of Information and Culture is in China to attend the 3rd Forum on China-Africa Media Cooperation and the 6th Africa Digital TV Development Seminar, both holding in the Chinese capital, Beijing.
Meanwhile, Mohammed has hailed the partnership between the Chinese media group StarTimes and the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), saying the partnership has revolutionized television viewing.
“We are very proud of our association with you, especially the partnership between you and the NTA,” the Minister said when he visited the sprawling headquarters of the StarTimes in Beijing, China, on Monday.
He expressed gratitude to the Chairman of the company, Xinxing Pang, over his stated plans to expand its operations in Nigeria.
The Minister, who undertook a guided tour of the StarTimes’ headquarters, congratulated the company for the “giant strides” it had made in under 30 years of its existence.
Welcoming the Minister earlier, Pang described the NTA as his company’s most important partner in Africa, saying the Chinese firm is ready to invest more in Nigeria, especially in the area of content provision.
He also said that StarTimes’ planned expansion in Nigeria would include the establishment of a manufacturing plant in the country to produce decoders and television sets, as well as the building of state-of-the-art studios.
The StarTimes’ Chairman said the vision of his company is for every African family to have access to high quality digital television.
The company, which was established in 1988, operates in more than 30 African countries, with over 7 million digital television subscribers.
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