Nigeria, France renew military ties to strengthen fight against insecurity
The Minister of Defence Maj Gen Bashir Salihi Magashi (Rtd) said Nigeria and France’s officials had met to renew existing bilateral Military agreements between both countries to reflect the real-time security-related needs of the two countries.
General Magashi stated this when the Ambassador of France to Nigeria Emmanuelle Blatmann paid a courtesy call on him at the Ministry of Defence Headquarters, Ship House, Abuja.
He noted that Nigeria and France are strategic partners and pointed out that the partnerships need to be rejigged to take it to higher levels of operability and deliverability.
The Defence Minister, therefore, welcomed a more proactive intelligence gathering mechanism and technological support to drive a new information-sharing regime in aid of the Military Campaigns in the country.
The general went further to ask for a technological transfer to galvanise the nation’s Military productive capabilities in the sector.
The Ambassador of France to Nigeria Emmanuelle Blatmann in her remarks while requesting for the technical interface between the two parties to examine critical areas of mutual benefits in the proposed rebirth of the Memorandum of Understanding assured that her Country will reinforce efforts to end terrorism in Nigeria and Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
The Ambassador commiserated with the Nigerian Armed Forces over those who paid the supreme price in the line of duty defending the Nation’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
The Ambassador was accompanied on the visit by the Defence Attaché, Embassy of France in Nigeria, Colonel Guillaume Dujon thanked the Defence Minister for the audience aimed at strengthening the existing bilateral agreements between the two countries.