Defence Ministry To Deepen Collaboration With Bulgaria

The Minister of Defence, Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, CON, mni has said that the Ministry of Defence is willing and ready to deepen Defence cooperation with Bulgaria. Badaru disclosed this when he received the Ambassador of Bulgaria to Nigeria, Yanko Yordanov in Ship House, Abuja. He said that considering the level of Bulgarian Defence Industry, the Ministry of Defence will cooperate with Bulgaria in areas of information and intelligence sharing, equipment production as well as military training. Speaking on Military equipment, the Minister stated that Defence Industry Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) of Nigeria will partner with Bulgaria for effective technology transfer that will enable the Industry meet with international standard. Accordingly, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Nigeria and Bulgaria will be signed  to facilitate effective military cooperation between the two countries. On the forth coming Military Exhibition slated for June 2024, the Minister promised to send a delegation from the Ministry to attend the exhibition. “Our attendance will provide us opportunity to learn how Bulgarian Government produce their Military hardware. Yanko Yordanov, the Bulgarian Ambassador to Nigeria said Bulgaria and Nigeria have shared experiences and existing mutual military relationship that exceeded decades.  In furtherance to  strengthening the bilateral relations, the Ambassador said that the Military Exhibition would afford Nigeria the opportunity to gain more knowledge about Bulgarian Military equipment production.

FCTA, Israel Partner On Agriculture, Security, Digital Economy

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, says the FCT Administration will partner with the State of Israel on agriculture, security, and digital economy. Wike stated this when he received the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Michael Freeman, in his office in Abuja. He expressed a commitment to partner with Israel on information technology, particularly in the development of the planned Technology Village in Abuja. The minister added that the climatic condition of Abuja city is also conducive for agricultural production. “The climate here is good for agriculture, so I would like to partner with you to have a large technology driven farm to employ a lot of our youths. “It will be good if you can open that channel,” he said. Wike also called for partnership to improve the security situation in the FCT, stressing that security was very crucial to enable people to do their businesses without fear. “Let us work together to help us reduce some of the insecurity in FCT,” he added. Earlier, Freeman offered to support the FCT minister in making Abuja a technology hub using Israeli expertise. He said that currently when people think about technology, Lagos always comes to mind, stressing the need to work together to build a technology-driven economy in the federal capital. “I want to discuss with your team on using Israeli expertise to set up centres where people can learn about digital economy and build digital start-ups. “We will also be glad to work with you on agriculture in Nigeria to provide jobs. We will also work with you on digital economy, alternative energy and security. “There are huge opportunities for us to work on,” he said. The ambassador invited the minister to visit Israel to discuss opportunities that could benefit all parties.