Deputy Minister of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan – Commander of the Air Force, Lieutenant General Ramiz Tahirov has met with a delegation led by Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar, Commander of the Air Force Federal Republic of Nigeria.
During the visit, bots sides discussed the possibilities of cooperation between the air forces of Azerbaijan and Nigeria, as well as a number of issues of mutual interest such as a strategic partnership in capacity building and development of Nigeria’s military-industrial complex with a view to further boosting NAF’s operational effectiveness in the fight against insurgency and other forms of criminality in the country.
The visit, which took place from 5 – 8 February 2019, was on the invitation of the Azerbaijani Deputy Minister of Defence and Commander of the Azerbaijan Air Force (AzAF), Lieutenant General Ramiz Tahirov, who, along with other senior officers from AzAF, hosted the CAS and conducted him on a tour of facilities at the Gala Air Base and the Aviation Repair Factory located in Nasosna Air Base, where the AzAF carries out up to 4th Line Maintenance of aircraft in its inventory.
One of the immediate benefits of the visit is the acceptance by the AzAF to provide simulator training slots for NAF pilots on the Mi-35M Helicopter and L-39ZA aircraft. The first set of NAF pilots are expected to commence their simulator training before the end of February 2019.
The CAS was accompanied on the visit by the Air Officer Commanding Mobility Command, Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Peter Uzezi, Chief of Logistics Headquarters NAF, AVM Aminu Yakubu, the Chief of Staff Air Training Command, Ayoola Jolasinmi, the Deputy Director of Training HQ NAF, Air Commodore Esen Efanga as well as Nigeria’s Defence Adviser to Islamabad, Brigadier General Nasiru Mukhtar.
The Nigerian delegation also visited the air base of the Air Force of Azerbaijan. The delegation were informed about the activities of the air base.