United Kingdom and Nigeria are holding the first meeting of the Nigeria-UK Security and Defence Partnership Dialogue in London this week. Talks, led by UK National Security Adviser, Sir Stephen Lovegrove and Nigerian National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno, are scheduled to last for three days, and would be concluded on Wednesday.

The Dialogue will also include a series of breakout sessions covering a range of issues, including counter terrorism, serious and organised crime, civilian policing and human rights. Defence staff talks, led by UK Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin and Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff, General L.E.O. Irabor, will also talk place in parallel, and will discuss military cooperation.

The Nigeria-UK Security and Defence Partnership was agreed between the two countries in 2018. This week’s dialogue will be the first meeting following the 2018 agreement.

At the start of the dialogue, UK government Minister for Africa, Vicky Ford MP, said “Today we welcome our Nigerian friends as we open the first UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership dialogue in London. By building stronger security ties we can better protect our people from shared security threats.”

British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing said: “Looking forward to the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership discussions over the next few days. Great to have this chance to expand our security and defence cooperation to improve how we respond to shared security threats.”

The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and the British High Commission to Nigeria look forward to sharing more details about the Partnership Dialogue after their conclusion later this week.