Photo Caption
Hon. Minister of Aviation, Mr. Festus Keyamo with Mr. Anthony Derjacques, Minister of Transport of the Republic of Seychelles
By Ignatius Ushie
Hon. Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo SAN, has met with the President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, His Excellency, Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Duailj at the recent 15th International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Air Services Negotiation (ICAN2023) held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia .
In a statement made available to Transport Day in Abuja, it was noted that
the meeting which provided countries and participants a forum to learn about current industry trends and issues, and exchange experiences, in addition to negotiation of agreements with respect to air services on direct flight connectivity between countries for the purpose of promoting commerce, trade and tourism had officials of the Aeronautical authorities of both countries in attendance, including representatives of airlines from Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.
The meeting privided opportunity to discuss critical issues with respect to the performance of Nigerian Air Carriers during the 2023 Hajj operations; challenges of Hajj operations during the 2023 Hajj season; outstanding of Nigerian Air carriers; recommendations for 2024 Hajj season; and the preparation for 2024 Hajj season.
The meeting discussed extensively on all the issues and resolved that concerted efforts be made by the Nigerian side to ensure flawless and seamless Hajj operations in the interest of the pilgrims.
A standing committee was constituted with representatives from the two countries with the mandate to meet weekly to discuss on progress being made by Nigeria towards preparations for the pilgrimage to the Holy Land of Makkah and Medina.
Similarly, in order to deepen the implementation of the subsisting Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of Seychelles, Keyamo also met with his counterpart, Mr. Anthony Derjacques, the Minister of Transport of Republic of Seychelles.
The meeting, at the instance of Seychelles, discussed on how to further accelerate direct air connectivity between the two countries.
Keyamo applauded Mr. Derjacques for initiating the meeting and promised to fast track the implementation of the signed BASA to promote trade and tourism between the two African nations.
