The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas has called for closer military cooperation between Nigeria and Bangladesh.
He made the call while receiving the Bangladesh High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Shameem Ahsan in his office in Abuja.


Ekwi Ajide of our Abuja Bureau reports that Admiral Ibas who stressed that Nigeria as a country, values its relationship with friendly countries like Bangladesh, underscored the fact that many Nigeria officers had trained in Bangladesh.


He informed High Commissioner Ahsan of the establishment of the Nigeria Naval War College and proposed that an International Maritime Conference be hosted by the Nigerian Navy in 2020.


Admiral Ibas therefore urged Bangladesh to consider sending their officers to the Naval War College Nigeria in the near future and the Bangladeshi Chief of Naval Staff to attend the Conference.
While stressing the readiness of the Nigerian Armed Forces to singing an MOU with Bangladesh on military cooperation, the Chief of Naval Staff canvassed for more visits and information sharing between the two countries for mutual benefit.


He similarly stressed the need for an international cooperation through avenues such as the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium for a common approach to containing maritime threats.


Earlier, the Bangladesh High Commissioner, Mr Ahsan had underscored the giant strides made by Bangladesh in peace keeping operations, agriculture and the garment industry, stressing that Nigeria and Bangladesh have a lot in common and areas of cooperation for mutual benefit.