May 03, (THEWILL) – Nigeria and the Republic of Indonesia have signed a letter of intent to deepen bilateral defence cooperation in the areas of exchange of high-ranking operational officials, promotion of education and training as well as promotion of defence industries and intelligence sharing.
The Pact was signed at a brief ceremony held at the Ministry of Defence Headquarters, Abuja.
Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Retired Major General Bashir, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Dr Ibrahim Kana, signed the agreement on behalf of Nigeria, while the Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr Hustra Harahap, signed for his country.
The objective of the letter of intent, according to the parties, is aimed at promoting defence cooperation following the prevailing laws and regulations of the two countries.
A statement from the Defence Ministry says the two countries affirmed to maintain the principle of mutual respect, fairness and reciprocity.
The signing of the letter of intent, which has articles one to three, opened a new vista of hope in strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two countries, as explained by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar Kana.
Dr. Kana assured the 5-man Indonesian delegation that Nigeria is poised to drive the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries.
The Permanent Secretary said the long history of mutual relations between Nigeria and Indonesia, with common areas of interest as members of G-30 and G-8 countries, suffice to promote a win-win deal.
The Indonesia Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Hustra Harahap, appreciated the Minister of Defence for the platform provided to sign the letter of intent and assured Nigeria of his country’s total commitment to abide by the articles contained in the signed document.
The ceremony was witnessed by the Director, Joint Services Department, Ministry of Defence, Olu Mustapha; her counterparts in the Medical, Dr Olajide Johnson; Press, Victoria Agba-atta and the Special Adviser, Technical, Major General Ahmed Tijani Jibrin (rtd).
The Indonesian Ambassador’s team included the Defence Attache, Colonel Otlow Resalino; the Minister Counsellor, Mrs Tuty Dityawanty; the Chancery, Fahmi Aris; and the Secretary, Defence Attache, Farouk Hashim.
