Abia to partner Israel in agriculture, technology, digital economy – Otti

 We ‘ve so much in common – Israeli envoy

Abia State Government has expressed strong desire to partner the nation of Israel in developing its economic and technological potentials, with specific reference to human capital, agriculture, digital economy and micro small and medium enterprise (MSME).

Governor Alex Otti made this known when the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency Michael Freeman, paid him a visit at the Government House, Umuahia.

This came just as Ambassador Freeman commended the leadership quality of Governor Otti, saying that his visit to Abia State is a tribute to the good work that the Abia Governor is doing in the State, particularly in the area of security

A statement by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Kazie Uko, quoted the Israeli envoy as commending Otti for improved security in Abia.

“As Israelis, we’re known for many things. One of the things we’re known for is not being so easy on security situation. So, when I received the invitation and had the conversation to come to Abia State, I went back to my Embassy, to my security team and said, I’ve been invited by the government to come to Abia State.

“I expected the answer to be, ‘You are not going to Abia State, that’s not happening’, but actually the answer came back within a couple of hours, ‘Absolutely, we clear that security wise, you can go’.

“I think, again, there’s another. I’ve been here now in Nigeria for two years, and other than being in the FCT (Abuja) and other than being in Lagos, this is my first visit outside of those two places, which again I think is a tribute to you, it’s a tribute to your work, it’s a tribute to everything that is happening here (in Abia),” Ambassador Freeman told Governor Otti.

The Isreali Ambassador, who described his visit to Abia as significant, coming on a day that the Jewish nation was celebrating its 76th Independence Anniversary, said that there is so much that Abia, indeed Nigeria, and Israel have in common, particularly their entrepreneurial spirit.

He said: “We both have a very young population. We both have a population that is innovative, that is determined to do better than their peers, to continually strive. Nobody really taking ‘no’ for an answer, okay.