Nigeria, Saudi Sign Agreement to Improve Safety in Both Countries Airspace

Kasim Sumaina in Abuja

The Nigerian Government and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have signed a technical cooperation agreement to train its Accident Investigation Personnel and share knowledge to improve air safety in both countries’ airspaces.

The Air Accident Investigation bodies of

Nigeria and Saudi Arabia signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Abuja on the sidelines of the ongoing 14th International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Air Services Negotiation event.

Speaking to journalists shortly after signing the agreement, the Director-General, the Accident Investigation Bureau of Saudi Arabia, Abdulelah O Felimban, said the intention was to promote safety and prevention of the reoccurrence of accidents.

Felimban added: “We came to meet our counterpart in Nigeria, the Accident Investigation Bureau of Nigeria, to open the channels of communication, cooperation, experiences sharing and learning from each other and benefiting from the capabilities that each of us has.”

He explained that the purpose of aninvestigation is to ensure and promote air safety, adding that: “Our business is to collect data, pieces of evidence, analyse them and put forward recommendations to make our skies safer.”

Similarly, the Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer, Accident Investigation Bureau Nigeria (AIB), Akin Olateru, said there is only one ‘aviation’ in the world and the rule of the game is cooperation.

According to him, “There is no one country that is an island. We need to work together as a team to enhance safety. Saudi Arabia will help us

in the area of human capital development; we can engage in ideas. It’s all about improving safety for the flying public.”