By Suleiman Dalhatu, Lafia

Nasarawa State Government has said it would continue to accord priority to the development of the small-scale industrial sub-sector to ensure the rapid economic development of the state.

The state deputy governor, Chief John Michael Abdul, stated this while receiving Senator Hillman Frazier, a United States of America (USA) Senator representing Mississippi, who paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Lafia, recently.

The deputy governor informed his guest of the state government’s desire to open up rural areas by awarding contracts for the construction and rehabilitation of roads linking the rural and the urban areas of the state.

Chief Abdul called for collaboration in the field of solid minerals with the state of Mississippi, saying that "the process of developing and exploring the solid minerals sub-sector is cost-intensive".

He revealed that the state has entered into an agreement with the United Nations (UN) Habitat to draw up a master plan for urban areas in the state.

In his response, Senator Hillman Frazier, thanked the Nasarawa State Government for taking very bold steps in addressing the plight of the less-privileged and opening up roads from rural areas into the cities.

According to him, Nasarawa State shared certain similarities with his state of Mississippi in the USA, saying that his state was trying to develop its tourist sites to attract tourists to Mississippi.

He said that he was in Nasarawa State to identify ways of collaborating with the state government, adding that he was impressed with the steps so far taken by the governor Akwe Doma administration in its efforts to improve the peoples’ living standards.