BY OLAPEJU OLUBI
In a move designed to boost international air connectivity, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, on Thursday, hosted the Ambassador of Namibia to Nigeria, Humphrey Geiseb in his office in Abuja to discuss issues around Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) and the visa-on-arrival initiative.
This was disclosed by Tunde Moshood, the Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, in a statement on Thursday.
According to him, Ambassador Geiseb emphasised the importance of Air Namibia’s operations between the two countries, especially in the area of enhancing international trade and commerce.
Geiseb added that the national carrier previously connected Lagos to Accra and played a key role in facilitating travel between Namibia and Nigeria.
The envoy, however, regretted that Air Namibia battled paucity of funds which chased it out of the skies and ultimately closed operations.
However, it secured a government bailout.
Geiseb emphasised that currently, operating a direct flight between Windhoek, Namibia’s capital and Nigeria remains a major challenge as travelers have to transit through Addis Ababa.
“While there are occasional flights via TAG Airlines, they are not frequent enough to meet the demand for seamless travel between the two nations” he said.
The Ambassador further expressed his country’s desire to partner with Nigerian airlines to restore direct connectivity, citing ongoing discussions with Air Peace.
However, he encouraged Minister Keyamo to engage with domestic airlines to explore potential collaboration opportunities.
Ambassador Geiseb assured his host, Keyamo, that he would engage his counterpart, Namibia’s Minister of Aviation, to arrange a possible visit to further fortify the aviation bond between both countries.
Responding, Keyamo welcomed the idea of a direct flight between Namibia and Namibia and shared a personal experience regarding the challenges of establishing direct flights in the region.
He recalled the successful Algeria/Lagos/Cameroon flight route, which was initiated after the Algerian Ambassador proposed a direct connection, despite the close proximity between Nigeria and Cameroon.
The Minister also pointed out that one of Nigeria’s fast-rising domestic carriers, Xejet, which currently operates Sierra Leone’s national carrier, Air Sierra Leone, could be a potential partner in this arrangement.
Additionally, the Minister raised the issue of the visa challenges between Nigeria and Namibia, recalling his own recent difficulties obtaining a visa despite holding a diplomatic passport.
He urged the Ambassador to work towards resolving these issues to facilitate smoother travel and to open doors for more trade and investment relations between the two countries. Both envoys agreed to collaborate on these matters to improve bilateral ties.
Aviation stakeholders noted that the meeting was a major stride towards building stronger aviation and diplomatic relations between Nigeria and Namibia as both nations commit to exploring new horizons in cementing the African economy.
