The National Economic Council (NEC) chaired by the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, is hosting an international forum to inaugurate the Integrated Regional Human Capital Development Strategy.
Mr Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice- President, said this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.
The conference scheduled for Abuja on Thursday, will have in attendance leaders in the public and private sectors across the ECOWAS sub-region.
The forum will review strategies on Human Capital Development (HCD), while the launch of the integrated strategy document will be the highpoint of the event.
Other partners participating in the forum include the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the World Bank, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Aliko Dangote Foundation, among others.
Nigeria’s HCD programme was launched in March, 2018, by the NEC.
It conceptualised the HCD programme with the realisation that human capital development plays a critical role in addressing poverty and ensures participatory and sustainable economic growth.
Meanwhile, the vice-president also received the Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau, Mr Nuno Nabiam, on a courtesy visit to the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Prime Minister is visiting Nigeria to attend a meeting of the Integrated Regional Human Capital Development forum.
Osinbajo called for improved cooperation among West African countries to address the issues of healthcare access, out-of-school children among other human development indices.
He thanked Nabiam for honouring the invitation to attend the conference.
“The Human Capital Development meeting is very important, it is an opportunity to share experience and help each other.”
“Nigeria’s National Economic Council (NEC) has done a lot of work on Human Capital Development, focusing on various challenges including questions around out of school and healthcare access,” he said.
Osinbajo, however, acknowledged that the indices showed that a lot more work still needed to be done.
He commended President Umaro Embalo of Guinea Bissau for his strong support for Nigeria, describing him as a very good friend of the country and President Muhammadu Buhari.
He noted that Guinea Bissau and President Embalo had always supported Nigeria internationally,
Osinbajo congratulated the country for recently warding off a coup détat and wished it well in all its endeavour.
On his part, the prime minister extolled the leadership qualities of President Buhari and Vice-President Osinbajo.
“What the president of Nigeria and vice president are doing inspires us too,” he said.
He extended the greetings and message of President Embalo, adding that they would always work to improve relations between both countries.
