China to welcome president of Niger for state visit

Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou will pay a five-day state visit to China starting Sunday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang announced on Wednesday.

Issoufou will hold talks with President Xi Jinping. The two will also attend a signing ceremony of cooperation documents. Issoufou will also meet respectively with Premier Li Keqiang and Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Besides Beijing, Issoufou will visit Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces.

Niger is an important country of unique influence in West Africa, Lu said, adding that China and Niger are good friends helping each other and good partners of reciprocity.

The two countries have enjoyed deepening political mutual trust and rich outcomes in cooperation in fields including infrastructure construction, health and energy resources, and have also maintained good communication and coordination in international and regional affairs, Lu said.

Issoufou's visit will inject new momentum into the development of bilateral ties, Lu said.