TURKISH President, Recep Erdogan, says his country will support Nigeria’s fight against terrorism, expressing readiness to deepen cooperation in military training and intelligence.
Speaking at a joint press conference with President Bola Tinubu during his official visit to the capital Ankara, Erdogan said that under Tinubu’s leadership, Nigeria is taking firm steps against terrorism, and Türkiye stands by the Nigerian people in this struggle.
“We are ready to share Türkiye’s significant experience in counterterrorism,” presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, quoted the Turkish leader as saying.
The Turkish president said terrorist groups, particularly in Africa’s Sahel region, pose a threat to the continent’s stability.
Nigerian officials also held meetings with Türkiye’s leading defense industry firms during the visit and expressed confidence that the outcomes of those talks would be positive.
Erdogan said they reviewed “opportunities for closer cooperation” in the defence sector.
On trade, the Turkish leader said the two countries reaffirmed their $5 billion trade volume target, exploring new steps to enhance bilateral economic ties.
He stated that during the talks, both leaders discussed concrete steps needed to reach that goal and welcomed the establishment of the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) to support bilateral efforts.
Erdogan believes that Tinubu’s visit reflected Nigeria’s strong political will to deepen economic ties.
“Türkiye supports investments in Nigeria and welcomes cooperation between Turkish Petroleum Corporation, BOTAS (Turkish firm), and Nigerian energy firms,” he added, pointing to the African country’s potential as the continent’s largest oil and gas producer.
According to him, Nigeria holds a key role in restructuring Africa’s energy economy and Türkiye is eager to strengthen investment and trade relations in this field.
Nigeria has been fighting the insurgency war for over 12 years with thousands killed and more displaced.
On Monday, the president departed Abuja for the state visit to the European country.
The visit is meant to strengthen the “existing cordial relations between the two countries and explore further areas of cooperation in security, education, social development, innovation, and aviation”.