Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Nigeria, Hidayet Bayraktar, says drones and helicopters from Turkey will soon arrive in Nigeria as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s security architecture.

During the commemoration of the 99th National Day of the Republic of Turkey in Abuja, Mr Bayraktar described the security support from Turkey to Nigeria as an achievement from the defence cooperation contract signed between both countries in 2021.

He said that Turkey was 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.

“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 in Nigeria,” he said.

He added, “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.”

Mr Bayraktar said the Turkish government is also 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.

“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 generating revenues in this country,” Mr Bayraktar said.

On the bilateral relations between both countries, Mr Bayraktar said he was very proud that 2021 and 2022 had been a period of great achievements in the bilateral relations between Turkey and Nigeria.

Mr Bayraktar said 2022, which marked the 60th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties with Nigeria, had indeed gained a huge momentum recently, with the reciprocal high-level visits of President Erdogan, in October 2021 and President Buhari, in December 2021.

He said with the current pace of increasing commercial relations, he was confident that Turkey would soon achieve the target of $5 billion of bilateral trading volume with Nigeria.

“Today, Turkish business people, 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 of bilateral trading volume with Nigeria, which remains as one of our top trading partners in sub-Saharan Africa,” Mr Bayraktar said.

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Zubairu Dada, said Nigeria and Turkey witnessed increased trade and bilateral relations since the high-level visit exchange between both presidents in 2021.

Mr Dada also said Nigerians remained keen on doing business with their Turkish counterparts, which is reflected in the Turkey-Nigeria Business Congress held in September 2021 in Istanbul.

“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,” Mr Dada said. 

(NAN)