Nigeria's northwest state of Jigawa is looking forward to trade and economic partnership with China, a senior economic official told Xinhua.

The state is seeking Chinese investment in many areas, particularly agriculture and mining, the two sectors where it has comparative advantage, according to Mohammed Sagagi, director- general of the Jigawa Council on Economic Management and Investment Promotion (JCEMIP).

Jigawa State also wants to share China's tremendous experiences in the development of the two sectors, he said.

"We are looking in every direction for investment and China is one of the countries that we are counting on. You know China is good in many areas, including agriculture. It has been able to feed itself despite the size. This is the kind of things we want them to come and look at and see the precise areas they will want to invest here," he added.

Sagagi is influenced by the positive impact from a Chinese known as Lee, who is engaged in the socioeconomic development of the state.

"You know Lee is a friend of Jigawa state. He has built a big factory somewhere in Ringim village in here, and we want this kind of investment from other Chinese investors," he said.

The director-general added that as a way of assisting interested investors, who might want to invest in the state, the government has produced an investor's handbook outlining the investment potentials to be exploited.

The official listed the interesting areas from diary production to crop production, focusing on the value added products in all these areas.

Commenting on the activities of his agency recently inaugurated by State Governor Sule Lamido, he said that was set up to promote the state as the most preferred investment destination in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation and second biggest economy after South Africa.

(Xinhua News Agency September 7, 2013)