The Minister of Marine and Blue
Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, yesterday, continued bilateral discussions with
ministers and representatives from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh,
Brazil and Jamaica, expressing Nigeria's government interest in learning from their
knowledge and experiences.
This was revealed through his
media aide, Ismail Omipidan, in a statement issued on Tuesday evening.
Recall that Oyetola, on Monday,
held bilateral meetings with representatives of Greece, Qatar, and Mexico, on
the sidelines of the ongoing 33rd General Assembly session of the International
Maritime Organization, IMO, in London, United Kingdom.
During his meeting with the Brazilian
Chief of the Navy's General Staff, Adm José Augusto V. da Cunha de Menezes, the
minister said Nigeria would want to learn from the operations of the Brazilian
coast guards, as the ministry was desirous of setting up one so as to further
secure the maritime space and the country's waterways.
Oyetola further noted that:
"We want to also focus on sectors such as Marine Renewable Energy, Marine
Mining, Subsea Cabling and Piping, Marine Genetics, and Biotechnology, so as to
grow the marine and blue economy.
"As we continue to expand
and develop the activities of the sector, there will be need to deepen security
architecture within the maritime space. In this regard, we are considering
setting up Coast Guards and we believe that they will complement the existing
security architecture to further secure our maritime space."
The minister while expressing
Nigeria's desire to tap into technology to revolutionalise the maritime sector,
further said "technology and innovation are vital for boosting Nigeria's
trade and investment prospects within the Marine and Blue Economy. Advanced
marine technologies, including innovations in maritime logistics and smart
logistics solutions, will significantly enhance the efficiency and
sustainability of maritime transport and port operations, making Nigerian ports
more competitive globally."
Oyetola also met the newly
elected Vice President of IMO, who is the Bangladesh High Commissioner to the
UK, Saida Muna Tasneem and Saudi Arabia's Saleh bin Nasser AIJasser, who is the
minister in charge of the Ministry of Transport and Logistics Services of Saudi
Arabia, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Both Saudi Arabia and Nigeria
during the meeting agreed to sign a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to
cement their corporations, collaboration and partnership in the maritime space.
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