The Federal Government has concluded plans to deploy 200 Nigerian Special Forces to Türkiye for training, as part of efforts to strengthen defence capacity.
The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), disclosed this on Saturday in Antalya during the 5th Antalya Diplomacy Forum, following a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Yasar Guler.
The three-day forum, themed “Mapping Tomorrow, Managing Uncertainties,” brought together world leaders, ministers and diplomats to discuss global issues.
Musa said the agreement allows Türkiye to train 200 personnel from Nigeria’s Special Forces, adding that deployment would begin immediately after his return.
“We have a Special Forces training agreement. Türkiye has agreed to give us 200 Special Forces trainees, so as soon as I return, we are sending them here for training.
“We will continue to do a lot. There will be exercises. The first exercise is coming up later in the year. So, in so many areas of defence, we are going to work together,” he said.
The minister also said both countries had agreed to deepen defence cooperation through joint production of military equipment and technology transfer.
He noted that Nigeria and Türkiye have maintained longstanding relations, describing Türkiye as a long-time partner.
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“since 1960, Türkiye has been like family to Nigeria.”
Musa said Nigeria would benefit from Türkiye’s experience in defence production and counter-terrorism operations.
“I’ve had a meeting with the Turkish Minister of Defence, where we shared a lot of ideas on how to improve our relationship, defence-wise.
“Türkiye has improved dramatically in the production of military hardware.
“Nigeria is still developing, and we have agreed that we are going to partner together so that we have a co-production of some of these items,” he said.
He added that both countries would strengthen collaboration in training, defence production and personnel exchange, noting their shared experience in tackling insurgency and terrorism.
“Because of that, we will move into training, production, and improving on our defence, industrial production, and exchange of officers and soldiers.”
The forum also featured panel sessions on global defence, security, political, economic and technological issues, with participants from about 150 countries in attendance.
(NAN)