Nigeria’s Minister of State for Defense, Dr. Bello Mohammed Matawalle, has revealed that the country is on the verge of finalizing military agreements with Saudi Arabia.
The upcoming deals are set to include joint training, counterterrorism programs, capacity-building initiatives, and intelligence sharing between the two nations.
Matawalle, who recently visited Saudi Arabia, emphasized that his trip was aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s strategic partnership with the Kingdom, particularly in military cooperation. “My visit focused on boosting military cooperation and ties with the Saudi Armed Forces,” he stated, following a meeting with Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman.
During the visit, Matawalle expressed Nigeria’s confidence in Saudi Arabia’s pivotal role in promoting regional stability and global security.
He outlined that the discussions were centered on exploring new opportunities to address shared security challenges, with a particular focus on counterterrorism and intelligence collaboration.“We aim to solidify Nigeria’s partnership with Saudi Arabia and finalize agreements on joint training programs and capacity-building initiatives to strengthen our armed forces,” Matawalle added.
In addition to his meetings with Saudi defense officials, the Nigerian minister visited the headquarters of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) in Riyadh.
There, he met with the coalition’s Secretary-General, Maj. Gen. Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Moghedi, to discuss enhancing security cooperation in counterterrorism efforts with Saudi Arabia and other member states.
