Nigeria and Cameroon have formally signed a Bilateral Agreement on Technical Aeronautical Search and Rescue Operations, strengthening aviation safety cooperation across their shared airspace.
The agreement was signed in Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital, on Friday, following high-level talks between Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, and his Cameroonian counterpart, Minister of Transport Jean Ernest NgalNgallé Bibehe.
Keyamo announced the development on Saturday via his official X account.
“Yesterday, I led a high-level Nigerian delegation to Yaoundé, Cameroon to meet my Cameroonian counterpart, the Minister of Transport, Jean Ernest NgalNgallé Bibehe, to formally sign the Bilateral Agreement on Technical Aeronautical Search and Rescue Operations.
“This agreement between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of Cameroon enhances airspace safety by enabling faster and more coordinated responses to aviation emergencies across our shared borders,” the minister wrote.
The Nigerian delegation included the Director General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, and key directors from the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development.
Keyamo said the composition of the delegation was deliberate, aimed at ensuring a “unified approach to implementation” from the outset.
The agreement establishes a framework for technical cooperation between the two nations in the event of aviation emergencies occurring in or near their shared border regions.
The signing comes months after a Nigerian Air Force C-130 aircraft made an emergency landing in Burkina Faso following a mid-flight technical fault.
The crew and passengers; 11 military personnel in total, were detained for nine days by Burkinabe authorities, who accused Nigeria of entering their airspace without clearance.
They were only released after diplomatic intervention by Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar on President Tinubu’s orders.
