The Joint military talks between the Nigerian and France armed forces to strengthen the existing defence collaboration agreements between both countries have opened in Abuja.
The five-day meeting which is taking place at the Defence Headquarters(DHQ), is being attended by the Chief of Defence Staff(CDS), General Lucky Irabor, top military officers and their counterparts from the France armed forces.
In his address, the team lead, Vice Admiral Christopher Lacus said Nigeria is a key stakeholder both in regional security and an important partner to France in Western Africa. As the regional leader, it is essential to bring back safe environment for the people.
"So that's why the meeting we will have today can testify, the military authorities and experts of Two countries working together in a close partnerships in order to contribute to the strengthening of the larger Armed Forces capacities and enable them to face their Challenges.
He noted that, France remains fully committed to support stability and development in Western African countries, that Security challenges between both countries bear fruit and pave the way for deeper cooperation with the strong nation and military power that is Nigeria.
Welcoming the delegation to the Defence Headquarters, the Chief of Defence Staff represented by the Director Policy, Major General Usman Yusuf, thanked the government and the people of France for their continuous assistance to the Nigerian armed forces.
“Nigeria, as you are aware, is completely surrounded by French speaking countries.
“So, it is very important that Nigeria as a nation would develop that very friendly cordial relationship with France, especially high defence talks that has to do with the security of Nigeria.
"For 15 years now, Nigeria has been fighting insurgency in the North East of the country and as a result of that will have Multinational Joint Taskforce which is made of Nigeria, Chad, Cameroun, Niger, and as usual again, French speaking countries", he added.
Major General Usman Yusuf, said, this High Defence talk will produce high yielding results that will be useful in Armed forces of Nigeria operation especially in the security sector.
SpyeTV News reports that the meeting, that is the Joint military talks between the Nigerian and France armed forces is expected to end on December 7.
