Japan, UN partner Nigeria to secure Gulf of Guinea

Japan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have partnered with Nigeria on a counter terrorism response to rid the Gulf of Guinea of piracy.

The project, which is in conjunction with the Martin Luther Agwai International Leadership and Peacekeeping Centre (MLAILPKC), is to research how piracy in the Gulf could be reduced to cut the cost of shipping goods to Nigeria through the Gulf.

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At the launch yesterday in Abuja, Ambassador of Japan to Nigeria, Matsunaga Kazuyoshi, stated that the total trade volume between Nigeria and Japan is $1 billion per year, making it crucial for maritime safety partnership.

Chairman, BOT of MLAILPKC, Gen. Martin Luther Agwai, stated that cases of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea threaten the ease of moving goods and services along the coasts, thus increase in maritime insurance costs, higher prices for goods and merchandise with costs associated with cost passed on and borne by the final consumers.

The Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP to Nigeria, Mr Lealem Berhanu Dinku, said the realization of the economic importance of this maritime route to regional and international trades and businesses prompted the intervention of the government of Japan, in partnership with UNDP, to fund projects in this area.