Nigeria and France have expressed readiness to strengthen ties towards defeating terrorism and insurgency.

The director of policy, Defence Headquarters, Usman Yusuf, made this known on Tuesday in Abuja at the opening of the Nigeria-France Joint Military Staff Talks.

He said the discussions between the armed forces of the two countries were aimed at strengthening existing defence collaboration and agreements.

Mr Yusuf recalled that both countries had conducted a lot of activities since the 1960s, adding that the relationship has been growing stronger over the years.

“You are aware that for over 15 years now, Nigeria has been fighting insurgency in the North-East of the country.

“As a result of that, we have the Multinational Joint Task Force, which is made up of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

“Again, your French-speaking countries who have very close ties to France and which you have a lot of influence on, so this has to do also with our defence architecture,” he said.

Mr Yusuf expressed the hope that the talks would produce high-yielding results for both countries that would deepen cooperation in the security sector.

Responding, the deputy director, International Relations, French Navy, Christophe Lucas, thanked the Nigerian Minister of Defence and the Chief of Defence Staff for inviting France’s defence committee for the third edition of the talks.

Mr Lucas said the defence relations had been strengthened over the years, especially after 2014, adding that the talks were an opportunity to reassess the relationship.

He added that France would continue to support Nigeria’s efforts against terrorism through reconciliatory moves and the Multinational Joint Task Force.

Mr Lucas assured that the two armed forces would work closely to strengthen their capacity to face any security challenge.

Mr Lucas said France remained fully committed to supporting stability and development in West Africa and hoped that the discussions would pave the way for deeper cooperation with Nigeria. 

(NAN)