Niger–Nigeria relations little interest in a pan-Hausa state. The division of Lake Chad, although forced to go to mediation between Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria, awaits formal settlement and has not been a source of tension between Niamey and Abuja. Nigeria has an embassy in Niamey, while Niger maintains an embassy in Abuja. The cities of southern Niger and Northern Nigeria have been linked in the Trans-Saharan trade going back to the medieval period. Cities such as Kano and Katsina have long been the southern terminus of trade networks which sustain much of Niger's economy. Nigeria benefits from the trade and agricultural
Niger River Fund. The World Bank approved a US$500 million soft loan in July 2007 to finance projects in the basin over a 12-year period. Funding will be awarded in two phases. The initial $185 million credit will go to Nigeria, Guinea, Benin, Mali and Niger. The second, $315 million investment, is slated for Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad and Ivory Coast. Besides financing the rehabilitation of dams in Nigeria, the loan will also fund the "sustainable management of selected degraded ecosystems and rehabilitation of small water infrastructure" and capacity building. In September 2009, the Nigerian government commenced a 36 billion naira dredging