Nigeria and Russia are looking to strengthen their military ties, as discussions on a defence pact are ongoing.
- Nigeria and Russia are in talks to expand their defense pact and strengthen military ties.
- Discussions have included the provision of training, supplies, and a potential nuclear partnership.
- Nigeria and Russia have discussed plans to deepen their military-technical cooperation.
Officials from both countries recently discussed the expansion of a defence pact between Nigeria and Russia.
Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Yunus-bek Yevkurov and Chief of Defense Staff of the Nigerian Army Christopher Musa conversed on the subject, as realyed by the Russian embassy.
The embassy further added that both parties seemed pleased with the progress Nigeria and Russia have made regarding military-technical cooperation and discussed plans to deepen the relationship in the area.
Both countries struck an agreement in 2021 for the Russian military to provide training and supplies to its Nigerian counterpart, as seen on Sputnik.
Nigeria and Russia energy deal
Midway into February, Russia and Nigeria got into talks about a nuclear partnership.
The Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, made this known during an interview with the Russian newspaper, Sputnik, on the sidelines of the 38th AU Summit in Addis Ababa.
He disclosed that the West African economic giant and Africa’s largest oil producer is currently negotiating a potential partnership with Russia in nuclear energy and several other areas.
“There are so many opportunities that have been discussed. We have discussed atomic energy, we’ve discussed mining, we’ve discussed previous investments during the Soviet era that need to be carried on,” the minister revealed.
At the start of the year, Nigeria was accepted as a partner state into the BRICS group of nations, where Russia is a primary stakeholder.
Shortly after, Yusuf Tuggar noted that Nigeria would be bolstering its economic cooperation with other BRICS nations across different sectors.
“The formal acceptance to participate as a partner country [of BRICS] underscores Nigeria’s commitment to fostering international collaboration, leveraging economic opportunities, and advancing strategic partnerships that align with Nigeria’s development objectives,” he stated at the time.
Nigeria’s current membership falls in line with its original goal, as it had stated back in 2023 that it planned to join BRICS within the next 2 years.
