Steyr 4K-7FA Armoured Personnel Carriers: Legacy of Austro-Nigerian defence cooperation
THE NATION
8 June, 2012
The Federal Government on Friday
assured the Austrian government that
the country will not fall apart despite the ongoing security challenges in some parts of Nigeria. The Minister of Foreign Affairs,Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, made the remark when he received the Austrian Vice Chancellor, Dr. Michael Spindelegger in his office in Abuja
According to him, Nigeria is blessed with strong armed forces which are fully committed to the unity of the country. Stressing that the armed forces in Nigeria have been rising to the occasion, he said the training of the forces is now being refocused to include handling of terrorism.
He said: “I can assure you Nigeria is not going to fall apart. We have very strong armed forces on ground that can defend the integrity of the country. They have been able to rise to the occasion. They have made a couple of gains in the past months. “The training of the armed forces is being refocused to handle terrorism. The issue of terrorism in Nigeria is localized. It is not going to spread to anywhere. Nigeria will remain strong.”
On the meeting, Ashiru said: “What we have done this morning is to review the conditions of our relations. We have identified that the issues of trade and health are paramount. What we have done is to encourage Austria to make sure more of their companies come to Nigeria. We have enough market.
“We will benefit from their coming into Nigeria. VAMED is already involved in equipping and building hospitals in Nigeria. I also briefed them on Economic Community Of West African States and the need for them to support peace in the sub-region,” the minister added.
In his response, Dr. Spindelegger said the agreement just signed by the two countries will mainly focus on close cooperation to fight terrorism.
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