Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said that his administration would continue to strengthen diplomatic and bilateral ties with other countries to boost the socio-economic and infrastructural development in the state.

The governor gave the assurance on Monday while receiving the Ambassador of Japan to Nigeria, Kazuyoshi Matsunaga who was on a courtesy visit to his office.

Receiving the Matsunaga on behalf of Sanwo-Olu, the Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Hamzat, noted that the state government understands some of the challengesJapanese companies based in Lagos face.

Consequently, he assured the ambassador that the current administration is ready to resolve those issues.

According to him, a forum of government representatives and Japanese companies in Lagos would foster an understanding of challenges faced and possible solutions. 

Speaking further, the governor acknowledged that the state government has a lot to learn from Japan, particularly in solving the energy challenge facing the country, as Japan has over a million megawatts of power.

He also sought collaboration on other initiatives embarked upon by the State and referred to a previous discussion between the state government and some Japanese companies on the Odomola Water Processing in Epe, seeking a revisit of the project.

While thanking the Ambassador for his donations to sports development and security, the Governor further reaffirmed the commitment of his administration to the safety of every resident of the State, including Japanese citizens.

Earlier in his remarks, Matsunaga explained that the visit was to seek further collaboration with the state government due to its importance to Japanese trade and economy.

He noted that bilateral ties had been established since1923 while a majority of the Japanese companies in Nigeria are based in Lagos.

He disclosed that the Japan International Cooperation Agency is currently working on a variety of projects which include the power station and transmission from Lagos to Ogun.

Matsunaga added that the forthcoming Tokyo International Conference organised by Japan will focus on African Development where the Japanese and Nigerian Governments will have a bilateral interactive meeting in Tunisia

While expressing appreciation to Lagos for its support of Japanese companies, the Ambassador urged the State government to ease the movement of other Japanese companies to Lagos.