By Mariatou Ngum
Mrs. Ndey FatouTrawally, the Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment (MoTIE) last week received at the Ministry’s conference room, a delegation of students from the Nigeria Defence College Course 32.
The mission, composed of officials from Nigeria’s National Defence College, is in The Gambia on a 7-day study tour with focus on ‘Role of the maritime sector in national development in The Gambia: Lessons for Nigeria’.
The objective of the study tour is to strengthen participants’ appreciation of crucial issues of geopolitical, social and economic importance on the global scene and how these impact on Nigeria’s national security and development, as well as enhance participants’ understanding of bilateral relations between the countries they are visiting and Nigeria.
Welcoming the delegation, DPS Trawally expressed gratitude on behalf of the Ministry for their visit. She acknowledged the longstanding relationship between The Gambia and Nigeria, and emphasised the importance of security in national development, particularly in facilitating trade. She thanked the Nigeria Defence College for always taking time to come to the Ministry to exchange knowledge on important trade issues, which she said, will help strengthen the already existing bilateral relations between The Gambia and Nigeria.
Air Commodo EO Olokun, the leader of the delegation, thanked the Ministry through the Deputy Permanent Secretary for the warm welcome accorded them. This year’s theme, he said, was chosen bearing in mind Nigeria’s effort to diversify its economy from petroleum oil and natural gas to other areas for enhanced national development.
According to him, Nigeria is blessed with abundant maritime potentials that have not been optimally utilised.
Recognising the achievements Gambia has made in this regard, the National Defence College constituted the team to undertake a study tour of the aritime sector in The Gambia.
As such, this tour presents a good opportunity to learn and make necessary recommendations for the development of this sector in Nigeria.
About National Defence College
The National Defence College is the apex military training institution for the Nigerian Armed Forces, and a Centre of Excellence for peace support operations training at the strategic level in West Africa. It was established in 1992 as the highest military institution for the training of senior military officers in Nigeria.
Since the Nigerian Armed Forces had long established a strong tri-service military training heritage with the establishment of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, for cadet training, and the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), for middle level staff training, it was appropriate and cost-effective to continue the tradition by establishing the new strategic level military institution, the National Defence College, on a tri-service basis.
