After 25 years, Nigeria and the Republic of Maldives are to renew their bilateral relations. Nigerian Vice President Namadi Sambo told the Vice President of the Republic of Maldives,  Mohammed Waheed Deen, during a flight stop over at the Ibrahim Nasir International airport, Male, capital of Maldives, that Nigeria was ready to partner with his country in the areas of maritime security and fight against terrorism.
Sambo said Nigeria was also desirous of working with Maldives to deal exclusively with piracy, “which is assuming worrisome dimension globally”.
The Nigerian Vice President, en route to Tokyo, Japan, to attend the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, thanked Mr. Mohammed for providing “the opportunity to hold a meeting of that magnitude after such a long time”.
Sambo said that Nigeria was willing to support the Republic of Maldives in the area of education, especially as both countries are English-speaking nations.
On efforts to expand Nigeria’s agricultural development potentials, Vice President Sambo said ‚Äúagriculture is more of a business that ensures that the value chain from production to consumption are pursued adequately.‚Äù
Both Vice Presidents discussed cooperation in the areas of fisheries, livestock and energy, including hydro, thermal, wind and renewable energy.
Noting that Nigeria is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, Sambo pledged to encourage Nigerian banks to come over to the Maldives as “Nigerian banks have tremendous experience to participate in the Maldivian economy.”
On tourism, the Vice President stated that Nigeria will gain a lot from Maldives as it is the country’s major source of income, noting that Nigerian businessmen are ready to come and invest in tourism.
Earlier, Mohammed had expressed delight that after 25 years, Nigeria and Maldives will renew their bilateral relations once again.
Maldives, Mohammed said, looks forward to signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nigeria in the areas of security, power, tourism, agriculture and private sector participation in trade.
He noted that Maldives powers its energy with diesel as such needs to partner with Nigeria on oil and gas for their consumption.
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