October 29. (THEWILL) – Amid heightened fear of terrorist attack on the nation’s capital city, Abuja, Turkey has pledged security assistance for Counterterrorism in Nigeria
Hidayet Bayraktar, Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, said drones and helicopters from his country will soon arrive in Nigeria, to boost security architecture.
Bayraktar, however, said the Government of Turkey is expecting the Nigerian Government to reciprocate its legitimate security concerns by taking the necessary steps against the strong presence of the heinous FETO terrorist group in Nigeria.
Bayraktar made the disclosure during the 99th National Day of the Republic of Turkey in Abuja.
The Turkish envoy further said Turkey is set to extend all kinds of support to Nigeria in its efforts to counter its security threats, by sharing its experience, technical expertise and technology.
“The defence contracts signed between our countries last year, marked a historical record.
“Taking this opportunity, I am proud to announce that two of our flagship defence industry platforms, Bayraktar (TB-2) drones and (T-149) ATAK helicopters, are set to arrive Nigeria.
“We are confident that new Turkish defence products will support the efforts of the Nigerian Government and contribute immensely to the peace, prosperity and security of fellow Nigerians.
“Remaining as the sole obstacle hindering our bilateral relations to develop further, we call Nigeria not to let terror groups undermine our excellent ties, by allowing this terrorist group to fund their illegal aims and activities, by the generation of revenues in this country,” Bayraktar stated.
Bayraktar said he was very proud that 2021 and 2022 have been a period of great achievements in the bilateral relations between Turkey and Nigeria.
He stated that the year 2022, which marked the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties with Nigeria, has indeed gained a huge momentum recently, with the reciprocal high-level visits of President Erdoğan, in October 2021 and President Buhari, in December 2021.
“These mutual high-level visits have provided the opportunity to underline our shared goal of strengthening our bilateral ties in every field, especially in terms of commerce, defence industry, energy, construction, manufacturing healthcare, education, tourism and culture.
“With its steady growth over the last decade and by emerging as an economic powerhouse in its region, Türkiye expressed its readiness to share its development experience with African States, to broaden and strengthen its cooperation in different areas.
“Today, Turkish businesspeople, some of whom are present here tonight, are investing in numerous sectors, from Fast-Moving-Consumer-Goods to construction, from healthcare to transportation, from energy to agriculture.
“With the current pace of increasing commercial relations, I am confident that we will soon achieve our target of 5 billion USD of bilateral trading volume with Nigeria, which remains as one of our top trading partners in sub-Saharan Africa,” the Turkish envoy added.
In his remarks, Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zubairu Dada, said since the last series of consultations and exchange of visits at the highest political level, involving President Muhammadu Buhari and his Turkish counterpart, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Abuja and Istanbul in October and December, 2021 respectively, both countries have continued to seek new grounds to deepen relations, especially increase in trade volumes.
Dada also said Nigerians have remained keen in doing business with their Turkish counterparts.
In attendance were the Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dada, Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi; Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu; Turkish citizens, members of the diplomatic corp, amongst others.
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