Eurasia Press & News
TEHRAN (FNA)- Senior government officials from Iran and Nigeria Tuesday opened the two countries’ third joint economic commission meeting in the Nigerian capital Abuja in an effort to bolster mutual ties and cooperation.
Head of the Iranian delegation, Deputy Commerce Minister Mohammad Ali Zeyghami, said the two OPEC member states had the capability to develop “relations in all fields” including political, economic and scientific areas.
The three-day talks are to culminate in the signing of investment, maritime shipping and taxation agreements.
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Alhaji Tijani Kaura is leading the Nigerian delegation.
Addressing the opening session on Tuesday, Kaura said that there are tremendous untapped opportunities for cooperation, particularly in the development of oil and gas resources and renewable energy.
Kaura added that areas of potential cooperation between the two countries include “nuclear energy for peaceful uses, human capital development and training in handicrafts and carpet weaving, including skills acquisition for small-scale enterprises and agro-allied industries”.
“This meeting should adopt strategies, and indeed, an action plan for the speedy implementation of decisions taken at the two previous sessions of the commission, including those that will be taken at the end of this current session,” he said.
An Iranian state-run energy company is currently holding talks with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. They are discussing Iran’s provision of offshore and onshore services to Nigeria’s oil and natural gas sectors.
Both Iran and Nigeria are also members of the Organization of Islamic States (OIC) and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
