Nigeria, Ethiopia sign visa waiver agreement, MoU on defence cooperation

Nigeria and Ethiopia have signed a visa waiver agreement for diplomatic and official passport holders, and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in the field of Defence.

President Muhammadu Buhari and prime minister Abiy Ahmed witnessed the signing of the agreement Tuesday in Addis Ababa by their ministers of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama and Gedu Andargachew, respectively, during the state visit of the Nigerian leader.

Earlier, while meeting with the Ethiopian prime minister, president Buhari had discussed how to explore new areas of collaboration to further enhance and expand Nigeria-Ethiopia bilateral cooperation for the mutual benefits of the two countries.

Garba Shehu, Senior special assistant on media and publicity, in the early hours of Wednesday, explained that the visa waiver agreement is expected to ease travels by officials and contribute to further strengthening of bilateral relations.

The presidential aide said the memorandum of understanding on defence Cooperation is important to both countries in the coordination of efforts in the fight against terrorism and securing peace and stability in their respective sub-regions, as well as on the continent of Africa.

The MoU will also enhance bilateral military cooperation in the areas of training and education, technical assistance, exchange of visits and defence technology transfer.

It also entails cooperation in peace support operation issues within the framework of the respective laws of the Parties and on a reciprocal basis.