The Permanent Secretary of the Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Gabriel Aduda, has met with the Algeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ramtane Lamamra, and its Minister of Transport, Mr. Bekai Aissa, on the importance of intra-African economic integration.
The meeting was in continuation of his official visit to the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria for the 3rd Session of Bilateral Consultations.
The statement was made available on Thursday in Abuja by the Embassy of Nigeria in Algiers.
Aduda restated the need for the two countries to deepen bilateral relations.
The statement reads: “Ambassador Aduda was received by the Algerian Foreign Minister in his office on 7th December, 2021, and the two officials hailed the level of bilateral relations between the two countries and agreed to work to deepen it even further.
“Both sides identified the importance of intra-African economic integration, including transport connectivity, as key to achieving full regional integration.
“In his meeting with the Algerian Minister of Transport on 8th December, 2021, Ambassador Aduda highlighted the importance of direct air links between Nigeria and Algeria, as well as road and rail links between the two countries.”
Aduda noted that these would improve people-to-people contact and increase business relations among citizens of the two countries.
The Minister of Transport, Mr Aissa, reiterated his country’s commitment to undertaking direct flights to Nigeria under the framework of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between the two countries which was signed in 2018.
Both sides agreed to discuss the issues in greater detail at a technical level.
The permanent secretary was accompanied to both meetings by the Ambassador of Nigeria to Algeria, Mr. Mohammed Mabdul, as well as some other officials from Nigeria.
