China's Belt and Road Initiative comes at right time: Nigerian FM

JAKARTA, April 21  -- China's Belt and Road Initiative "has come at the right time," Nigerian Foreign Minister Aminu Bashir Wali said here on Tuesday.

"I think it is a benefit to the whole international community," Wali told Xinhua on the sidelines of the Asian-African Business Summit held in the Indonesian capital city.

Africa has seen the role China has been playing in "supporting, upgrading and uplifting the lives of our people through investment, training, capacity building and education," he said.

The Belt and Road Initiative refers to the building of the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, which was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Nigeria has been dealing with the China Exim Bank and other commercial banks of China, and their role in helping develop Nigeria's infrastructure "has been absolutely great," he said.

The Chinese government has supported efforts of those banks to promote infrastructure development in Nigeria, which is "something we appreciate," the minister said.

China has also played a key role in defending and promoting the interests of the developing world and emerging economies, he added