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Nigeria to Strengthen Defence Cooperation with India

© AP Photo / Evan VucciIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hand with Nigeria President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hand with Nigeria President Bola Ahmed Tinubu  - Sputnik India, 1920, 19.10.2023
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Nigeria's Defence Minister Mohammed Badaru Abubakar has said that the Federal Government of Nigeria is interested in establishing even greater cooperation between its defence sector and that of the Indian Government.
The Federal Government of Nigeria is open to expanding defence cooperation with the Government of India, according to Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, Nigeria's Defence Minister.
The Minister made this statement on Wednesday during a meeting at Ship House - the Federal Ministry of Defence's headquarters in the country's capital Abuja - with G Balasubramanian, India's High Commissioner to Nigeria.

Abubakar claimed that although relations between Nigeria and India were excellent, there is a need to increase defence collaboration, ie, where military hardware and training are concerned.

The Minister announced that on 30 November 2023, there will be a joint consultative meeting between Nigeria and India. He added that this will provide both nations with a chance to discuss and decide on the proposed collaboration.
The Indian High Commissioner said that the Indian Government would further solidify the relationship apart from an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Nigeria on defence cooperation.

Meanwhile, in the Gulf of Guinea, the Indian and Nigerian navies have strengthened ties to secure maritime security to protect the sea lanes as a channel of international trade.

The Indian Navy Ship (INS) Sumedha on Friday made a port call to Nigeria as part of its deployment to the Gulf of Guinea.

India's defence attaché to Nigeria, Colonel Romi Singh Legha, indicated on Saturday that during the visit, both navies would engage in training to further “increase interoperability between the two navies as well as increase anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Guinea”.

Legha added that the primary objective of INS Sumedha's port call visit to Nigeria was "to support the Nigerian Navy in anti-piracy operations" and officers from both ships would visit each other's ships as part of a cross-deck visitation arrangement. They would also engage in exercises with ships of the Nigerian Navy, he added.

Furthermore, a media source said that Bolar Ahmed Tinubu, the President of Nigeria, is expected to sign a new $1 billion defence agreement with the Indian Government.

The Indian Ministry of Defence is expected to help the Nigerian Defence Cooperation (DICON) in its goal to become 40 percent self-sufficient in the production of military gear by 2027.
Africa Media has reported that DICON has been struggling to meet the needs of the Nigerian military because cash shortages and chronic mismanagement have prevented them from producing any significant weapons.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, greets Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, upon her arrival at the Indian presidential palace, in New Delhi, India, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023 - Sputnik India, 1920, 10.10.2023
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