From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The Federal Government has called for enhanced bilateral relations between the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria and Nigeria.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Gabriel Aduda, made the call during the 3rd session of the Algerian-Nigerian political consultation held in Algiers.
The Embassy of Nigeria in Algiers, in a statement made available to Daily Sun, said Aduda made the call when he met with the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Algeria, Mr Chakib Rachid Kaid and the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Algeria, Mr Abdelkrim Aouissi.
Aduda, while meeting with Kaid, hailed the warm and cordial relations existing between Algeria and Nigeria and highlighted the importance of improving business relations.
“He particularly stressed the need for direct air links between the two countries, which he said would greatly reduce the travel time between both countries as against the current practice of going through Europe. This, he said, will greatly foster business relations and open up access to neighbouring countries that are also experiencing flight difficulties and, in that regard, called on the Algerian Government to take advantage of the existing Bilateral Air Services Agreement between the two countries and designate Air Algerie to ply the route. The Permanent Secretary also lauded the Algerian government for the strong cooperation with Nigeria in higher/tertiary education and called for increased scholarship opportunities for Nigerian students in Algerian institutions.
“The two officials reviewed the bilateral relations between the two countries, especially in security, trade, energy, infrastructure, and higher education sectors and pledged to work assiduously towards concretizing actions agreed under the “Roadmap” signed by the two Ministers of Foreign Affairs in 2018. They also reviewed matters of regional and global interest and agreed to continue the close coordination of the two countries in international institutions,” the Embassy of Nigeria in Algiers said.
During his meeting with Aouissi, Aduda commended the giant strides made by Algerian state-owned oil and gas companies, Sonatrach and Sonelgaz, and called for cooperation and knowledge sharing with their Nigerian counterparts, for effective manpower and gas infrastructure development.
“He advocated for cooperation, rather than competition, between the two countries in their development strides for the mutual benefit of the peoples of the two countries and the region at large.
“The Algerian officials expressed appreciation to the Permanent Secretary for the visit and stated their readiness to work to increase the bilateral relations between the two countries.
“The Permanent Secretary was accompanied to the meetings by the Ambassador of Nigeria to Algeria, HE Mr Mohammed Mabdul and some other officials,” the Embassy of Nigeria in Algiers also said.