Details on how to explore the outer space for the benefits of the participating countries and in the quest for global peace formed the crux of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the government of Nigeria and its counterpart in India. The agreement, which was signed on Thursday through a Web virtual meeting, detailed the readiness of the two countries to leverage on outer space technology for peaceful purposes. Nigeria’s Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu signed the MOU on behalf of the Federal Government while the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Amb. Abhay Thakur signed on behalf of the Government of India.
The Explainer correspondent reports that the signing ceremony was also witnessed by the Defence attaché of the Indian High Commission in Abuja, Col. Saghih Dubey and the Acting Director General of (NARSDA), Dr. Francis Chizea.
Speaking after the signing of the agreement, Onu said the MOU will strengthen the deep historic ties between both nations in terms of Socio-economic development, space exploration, environmental safety and trade. The Minister said the two nations had made relentless efforts in ensuring global peace, adding that “Nigeria and India share many historic ties, as both nations have been working closely to ensure global peace”. He expressed optimism that the pact would help accelerate Nigeria’s economic transformation from a resource-based economy to one driven by knowledge and innovation.
Onu further disclosed that Nigeria had developed and launched four earth observation satellites (NigeriaSat-1, NigeriaSat-2, NigeriaSat-X and NigeriaEduSat-1) and two communications satellites (NigComSat-1 and NigComSat-1R). Earlier, speaking through digital video link, the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, Shri V. Muraleedharan said the MOU will be of mutual socio-economic benefits to both countries. He commended the relationship between both nations, saying that Nigeria is India’s largest trading partner in Africa with a trade volume of $13.8 Billion, just as he noted the economic powerhouse of Africa provides 10percent of the energy needs of India. Muraleedharan expressed optimism that the signing of the pact will lead to expansion in cooperation between the two countries in agriculture, space technology, defence and the advancement of global peace.
Nigeria, India List Benefits of Pact On Outer Space Exploration
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