Nigeria and South Africa are stepping up cooperation in the area of defence, as part of measures to tackle the security challenges in both countries and Africa, especially regarding terrorism.

To this end, Nigeria is seeking the support of South Africa for the establishment of a Defence Complex for the production of arms.

This came to the fore on Monday at a forum in Abuja, where the Permanent Secretary in Nigeria’s Ministry of Defence and the Minister of Defence of South Africa spoke on efforts to ensure confidence building.

Top military officers from Nigeria and South Africa gathered to discuss how to improve security and ensure relative peace and stability through intelligence gathering, arms procurement and technical expertise.

With an upsurge in the activities of terrorists, the officials believe that it was time to act. This, they agreed, will be achieved through collaboration between both countries.

They said that the renewed cooperation will revolve around military training, equipment support and communication.

The Permanent Secretary in Nigeria’s Ministry of Defence explained that the Military Complex would be responsible for the production of arms and armoured vehicles locally.

“Ultimately, the aim here is to see how our defence industry would contribute to the economic enhancement of the country in terms of job creation and industrialisation.

“This are some of the things that we think the industrial military complex will bring on board when established.

“Fortunately, after the President has given us the go-ahead, we do have some funds in the 2016 budget to begin the process,” he said. (Channels TV)

•Photo shows Nigeria’s Defence Minister Manir Dan-Ali.