Israel and Nigeria inked a new bilateral aviation deal that will provide for direct flights between the two countries.
The Bilateral Air Service Agreement enables airlines from both countries to fly directly to each other without stopovers.
Proponents of the deal hope that the agreement will continue the strong growth of Israel-Nigeria ties. Each year tens of thousands of Nigerian Christians make pilgrimages to Israel’s holy sites.
“The agreement will pave way for direct flights into the two countries… Before now, Nigerians travelling to Israel, including Christian Pilgrims have had to endure the long winding stop-overs in neighbouring countries before being airlifted to the Holy Land,” said Nigerian Aviation Minister Princess Stella Oduah, Nigeria’s Daily Times reported.
The agreement comes amid a visit to Israel by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. Jonathan is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres to discuss further deepening the countries’ bilateral ties.
{Matzav.com Israel}
