ABUJA, Nigeria – Nigeria and Russia have agreed to renegotiate their 1967 Bilateral Air Services Agreement, with plans to sign a new aviation pact in April 2027 to modernise air transport relations and expand cooperation between both countries.
The decision followed a high-level bilateral meeting on Friday on the sidelines of the Third Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow, where Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, met with Russia’s State Secretary and Deputy Minister of Transport, Dmitry Stanislavovich Zverev.
According to a statement by the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, both countries agreed to conclude negotiations and sign the revised agreement in Saint Petersburg in April 2027. The ministry said the proposed agreement would provide an updated framework for bilateral air transport relations, improve connectivity and strengthen institutional cooperation between the aviation sectors of both countries.
It added that negotiating teams had been established by both sides to begin work immediately and meet the agreed timeline. “The proposed agreement is expected to provide an updated framework for bilateral air transport relations and create opportunities for enhanced connectivity, closer institutional collaboration and mutually beneficial engagement between the aviation sectors of both countries,” the statement said.
The statement was signed by the Minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Tunde Moshood. Beyond the review of the existing agreement, the two delegations also discussed other potential areas of cooperation in aviation and related sectors.
Nigeria’s delegation included the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Captain Chris Najomo; the Registrar of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Dr Danjuma Adamu Ismaila; and officials of the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development and the NCAA.
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