The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, CON, SAN, FCAirb (UK) met separately with the Minister of Transport of the State of Qatar, His Excellency Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti and Minister of Transport and Logistics of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, His Excellency Saleh Al-Jasser, on the sidelines of the ongoing Conference on the Future Aviation Forum (FAF) holding in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The meetings at the instances of the two Ministers from the Middle East countries were centred on how to further cement relationship with Nigeria in the area of air transportation and logistics.
The Future Aviation Forum, which is the third in the series, is focusing on Elevating Global Connectivity and enhance aviation collaboration via global partnerships, fostering innovation, sustainable air travel, and cultural exchange.
It is also providing the platform to connect global leaders in the aviation sector from across the value chain and sister industries to offer unrivalled knowledge exchange and business opportunities in a dynamic and critical economic sector. The Forum holding at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center (KAICC) started on Monday, 20th May 2024, and will end on Wednesday, 22nd April, 2024.
The Qatari Minister of Transport at the meeting with Keyamo indicated an interest in partnering with Nigeria to ensure that both countries benefit from the subsisting Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between them.
He underscored the importance of Nigeria in Africa, as a country with tremendous potentials and that Qatar would like to strengthen its air connectivity with Nigeria by offering some level of assistance
In his reaction, Keyamo appreciated Al-Sulaiti for his interest in Nigeria and stated that Nigeria was open for investment in civil aviation and other sectors of her economy. He made it known that Nigeria would like to learn from the experience and success of Qatar in airline operations, particularly on how the country was able to make a success out of Qatar Airways by making it a brand name globally.
He sought the assistance of his counterpart from Qatar to ensure that Qatar Airways patronises local catering services on the airline’s return trip to Doha from Nigeria.
This he stated would contribute to the local economy in line with the signed BASA and the principle of reciprocity. He also informed the Qatari Minister that Nigeria would be hosting her first international airshow in Lagos in February 2025 and would like the participation of aviation companies from Qatar.
