By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Muhammed Matawalle, has embarked on a 3-day official working visit to the Czech Republic to strengthen defence industrial cooperation between Nigeria and the Czech Republic.
The Minister, who led a delegation comprising senior officials of the Ministry of Defence, the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), attended the Czech Air Force Day/Air Show and Defence Exhibition in Ostrava, where modern and heavy defence equipment produced by the Czech defence industry were on display.
On the sidelines of the exhibition, Dr. Matawalle held a strategic bilateral meeting with his counterpart, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic, Lt. Gen. Jaromír Zuna (Rtd).
Discussions at the meeting centred on strengthening the existing strategic partnership and deepening collaboration and cooperation between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Czech Republic towards enhancing the manufacturing and production capacity of DICON in the area of military hardware production.
Minister Matawalle specifically stressed the need for the Czech Republic to partner with DICON to establish an ammunition production line in Nigeria. The issue of Transfer of Technology (ToT) to Nigeria, particularly in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and other military hardware, was also extensively discussed by both Ministers.
In his response, the Czech Minister of Defence expressed delight over the visit and assured the Honourable Minister of State of the Czech Republic’s readiness and willingness to collaborate with and support Nigeria in enhancing DICON’s defence production capabilities, including the requisite transfer of technology.
As part of the visit, the Minister is also scheduled to tour several Defence and Security industrial complexes across the Czech Republic.
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