BY OLAPEJU OLUBI
Nigeria and India are set to explore deeper cooperation in aviation, with training, capacity building and knowledge transfer identified as key areas of partnership.
The development followed a meeting between the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo and the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Abhishek Singh, who paid a courtesy visit to the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja last Wednesday.
Singh said Nigeria and India had significant opportunities to collaborate, particularly in the aviation sector, noting that Nigeria’s airports were performing well.
According to him, repeated visits to Nigeria had strengthened his belief that both countries could benefit from closer cooperation in aviation.
The envoy said he had identified at least six or seven areas where Nigeria and India could work together, although he did not specify all the areas.
He also invited Keyamo to visit India, saying the Indian Minister of Civil Aviation would equally be interested in visiting Nigeria to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
On human capital development, Singh said India was ready to expand its capacity-building programme in Nigeria, noting that more than 250 Nigerians currently benefit from the programme annually.
He described Nigeria as a country held in high regard by India and expressed his government’s willingness to deepen relations with Nigeria in the aviation sector.
Responding, Keyamo welcomed the proposals and said Nigeria could draw useful lessons from India’s experience, particularly in training and capacity development.
He said the proposed partnership was in line with the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s aviation and aerospace sector under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The minister said closer cooperation with India would not only support the development of aviation infrastructure but also provide Nigerian professionals with greater opportunities to acquire skills and international exposure.
Keyamo identified training, capacity building and knowledge transfer as priority areas, stressing that the proposed partnership should produce practical benefits for Nigerian aviation professionals.
He specifically mentioned engineers, pilots, air traffic controllers and other aviation personnel as key beneficiaries of the proposed collaboration.
To advance the initiative, the minister directed the establishment of a technical team to work out the details of the proposed Nigeria-India aviation partnership.
The team is expected to examine areas of cooperation and develop a framework for implementing the proposals.
Olapeju is a journalist and aviation reporter.
