Bothered by the insecurity in Nigeria, the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Nigeria, Hidayet Bayraktar, has pledged to reinforce the Nigerian government with helicopters and drones.
He said the helicopters from Turkey will soon arrive Nigeria in order to boost the country’s security architecture.
Bayraktar made the disclosure during the 99th National Day of the Republic of Turkey in Abuja.
In attendance were the Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu; the Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi, the Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zubairu Dada, Turkish citizens, members of the diplomatic corp, amongst others.
Bayraktar told the audience that since last year, both countries have seen remarkable achievements in defence cooperation.
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,” Bayraktar said.
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 heinous FETO terrorist group in Nigeria.
“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 generation of revenues in this country,” Bayraktar stated.
Earlier, 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 year 2022 which marked the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties with Nigeria, have 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.
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In his remarks, 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 which is reflected in the Turkey-Nigeria Business Congress held in September of last year in Istanbul, where the Minister of Aviation, other Government Officials, as well as a good representation of the private sector, participated in a discourse towards a long term cooperation with Turkish potential partners and investors.
“I wish to happily note that Nigeria and Turkiye have demonstrated a strong commitment towards friendship in all our dealings, including people-to-people contacts in recent times.
“On this note, I wish to express my optimism that as Nigeria and Turkiye continue diplomatic engagements at the highest level, we would work together tirelessly to deepen engagements for the mutual benefits of our peoples,” Dada said.
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