Marine and Blue Economy Minister Adegboyega Oyetola yesterday continued bilateral discussions with ministers and representatives from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Brazil and Jamaica.
According to his media aide, Ismail Omipidan, the minister expressed Nigeria’s interest in learning from their knowledge and experiences.
On Monday, Oyetola 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 (UK).
At the meeting, 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.
The ministry plans to set up one to further secure the maritime space and the 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 a 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”.
Expressing Nigeria’s desire to tap into technology to revolutionise the maritime sector, Oyetola 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”.
The minister also met the IMO’s new Vice President, who doubles as Bangladesh’s 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.
Saudi Arabia and Nigeria agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cement collaboration and partnership in the maritime space.
