ABUJA- The Deputy Commander of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Lt.-Gen. Jia Zhigang, has called for greater cooperation with the Nigerian military.
Zhigang made the call during a courtesy visit to the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, on Wednesday in Abuja.
A statement by the Acting Director of Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Tukur Gusau, indicated that the Chinese officer was in Nigeria on the invitation of the Chief of Air Staff for the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) 60th anniversary.
He said the cooperation would be in the areas of research, innovation, development of Unmanned Area Vehicles, and training of younger Nigerian air force officers.
He expressed gratitude for the invitation by NAF, and commended the Armed Forces of Nigeria for the successes recorded in the fight against terrorism, insurgency and other crimilities.
In his response, Gen. Musa said that Nigeria and China had come a long way and thanked China for supporting Nigeria in its fight against terrorism and insurgency.
The CDS expressed gratitude to China for the progress so far recorded in the areas of production of military hardware.
He asked for further support in the area of enhanced military technology to boost the capacity of the Nigerian military.
He assured the visitor of the readiness of the Nigerian military to embark on exchange and training programmes with People’s Liberation Army (PLA), to strengthen capacity at both ends.
Musa expressed desire for the establishment of Chinese-owned companies in Nigeria for the purpose of producing Military hardware. (NAN)
