Nigeria has signed a $523,823 (N185,957,165 million) Technical Assistant Agreement grant with the Islamic Development Bank (ISDB) Group in Marrakesh, Morocco.
The Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, disclosed this on Sunday in a statement by her Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Mr Paul Abechi.
According to the statement, the minister signed the agreement on behalf of the Nigerian Government while and President of the ISDB Group, Dr Bandar Hajjar, signed on behalf of the group.
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The signing took place during the 44th ISDB Group Annual Meeting held in Marrakesh, with the theme, ‘Transformation In A Fast-Changing World: The Road To SDGs’.
Mrs Ahmed explained that the TA agreement grants would be used to address capacity building and equipment, as well as logistics upgrade in the Hajj Commission.
She added that it was also aimed at the improvement of cotton, textile and garment value chain in the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.
The minister revealed that the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) would get $243,823.0, while the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment would receive $280,000.
“The Technical Assistant Agreement Grant of $243,823.0 to the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria is for capacity building/equipment and logistics upgrade,” she said.
“TA grant of $280,000 to the Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment is for the improvement of cotton, textile and garment value chain.”
Mrs Ahmed told participants at the conference that the governments at the state level in Nigeria were doing their best to boost agriculture and food production.
She said, “State governments in Nigeria are adopting cluster farming which has eased access to funds by farmers, increased growth and allows access to facilities without collateral.”
