Russia pledges support for Nigeria to stamp-out insurgency

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Russia pledges support for Nigeria to stamp-out insurgency

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Russia has pledged to take steps at all levels to assist Nigeria in its battle to stamp-out all acts of terrorism.Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Sergey Lavrov stated this in a joint press briefing with his Nigerian counterpart, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama in Moscow, the country’s capital.Mr Lavrov noted that Nigeria plays a vital role on the continent of Africa, and should be given global assistance at all levels to fight boko haram and terrorism.This new bilateral initiative is setting a new agenda for the advancement of the socio-economic and political phase of the two countries.The meeting, which opened a new vista in the Nigeria-Russia relations dwelt on the strong points of comparative advantages of the two countries.The Russia’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Sergey Lavrov said that his country would join forces with Nigeria to eliminate boko haram and instability in Africa.“We will continue to support steps taken by Nigerian government in the fight against Boko Haram. The Russian government is also prepared to improve military cooperation with Nigeria and support steps put in place by the government of Nigeria in the fight against terrorism,”Â he noted. The Minister revealed that the Russian government was consistently promoting solutions to African problems. “We want to eliminate instability in the African continent,”Â he said.Mr Lavrov also noted that the problems in Africa and other troubled region could only be fully resolved through inclusive dialogue. “We have exchanged opinions on issues not only in Nigeria but also Syria, Libya and Middle East. Solutions to the problems in these areas can only be achieved through inclusive dialogue.” He said.The Russia Minister used the opportunity of the parley to commend the role Nigeria was playing to ensure peace and stability in the continent and the world.Economic agreementsOn other areas of agreement reached at the meeting, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs will be working with Nigeria to speed up economic and political agreement between both nations.“We have agreed that we should speed up processes on political and economic agreement,”Â he said.On global politics, the Russian minister said his country and Nigeria will be working together on all issues that concern both nations.“We discussed regional and global agenda. We have agreed to coordinate our efforts within the United Nations on mutually beneficial issues.”Â he said.The Nigerian Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama in his briefing, noted that the activities of the Boko Haram or other form of terrorism were no longer Nigeria’s challenge but a global scourge.He however told his guest that the military had degraded and decimated the capacity of Boko Haram.The Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs said that Russia had provided military hardware and training in the efforts to end the activities of the terrorist group.On piracy, he said that the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has done a lot to end the scourge. He however called for the support of the government of Russia, especially in the Gulf of Guinea.On the issue of UN reforms, Mr Onyeama, noted that both countries had agreed to take a common position with Nigeria on UN reform issues.The Nigerian Foreign Affairs Minister told journalists that both countries will be meeting at a later date this year in Moscow to further the discussions on economic and political cooperation.He also commended Russia for educating over 10,000 Nigerian students, saying that in 2017 alone, 110 Nigerians have benefited under the Russian scholarship programme.He stressed that Russia has played a very big role in increasing the human capacity of Nigeria.“The role of Russia in the country’s development efforts is well documented and noble; it is important for Nigeria and Africa to have a stronger tie with Russia”. He saidHe had earlier on Monday, met with the Russian Minister of Agriculture, Mr Alexander Tkachev on a number of opportunities that abound in Nigeria’s agricultural sector. Source: VON

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