The Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Michael Freeman, says his country will continue to deepen diplomatic cooperation with Nigeria through medical tourism and other sectors of the economy.
He mentioned such sectors to include agriculture, digital economy, human capital, capacity building, education and health.
Freeman, also the Permanent Representative of Israel to ECOWAS, disclosed this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja, in view of the 76th independence anniversary ceremony of the State of Israel.
NAN reports that Israel was formally established in part of what was known as the British mandate on May 14, 1948, with Jewish independence restored after 2,000 years.
According to him, one of the things to be celebrated is the diplomatic relations between both countries
Freemen said, “We have over 60 years of fantastic relations between Nigeria and Israel. Nigeria is an important friend of Israel. It is an incredibly important country in the world.
“We are excited and happy to work with President Bola Tinubu and his government; we are certainly looking at where we can work together for the benefit of both Israelis and Nigerians.
“In 1960, when Nigeria got her independence the first ever football coach of the Nigerian national team was an Israeli ‘Jerry’ Beit haLevi, we are going to celebrate his life and connect also through sport.
“We are doing a great job in agriculture and climate change; Israel is the only country in the world that had fewer deserts at the end of the century, than at the beginning.
“We are managing to make the desert bloom for Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin, these areas are relevant in growing rice, cocoa, different plants, and great crop yields with less water and with less land”.
“These are areas we want to work with our friends and partners in Nigeria through high-tech, digital economy, human capital, capacity building, education and health.”
He described Nigeria as an interesting place, where Israeli doctors carried out medical surgeries, saying more will be done for Israeli doctors to work with Nigerian doctors in future.
“We are already looking forward to carry out this engagement later in the year; we are bringing a team of young Nigerian doctors to Israel to train them in specific areas.
He said Israel aspires to cooperate with Nigeria in training their doctors to undergo surgeries, such as liver, pancreas, and gallbladder, which has never been carried out in West Africa.
(NAN)