The Inspector General of Police Solomon Arase and his Italian counterpart, the National Police Chief Alessandro Pansaand on Monday signed an agreement for mutual intelligence sharing, capacity building and provision of logistics to their police forces to enhance cooperation between the Nigerian and Italian police forces.
President Muhammadu Buhari and the visiting Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi witnessed the signing of the agreement in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Besides the agreement, the two leaders also held bilateral talks on security, construction, oil and gas, solid minerals exploration, agriculture, immigration, human and drug trafficking, infrastructure and education, among others.
At a joint press briefing later, President Buhari recalled the age-long bilateral relationship with Italy and expressed satisfaction that the Italian government has agreed to partner with Nigeria in the broad and diverse areas.
‘‘I am impressed by the resilience and commitment of Italian business to Nigeria’s development shown by the Italian construction companies and other companies in the oil sector.
‘‘I am happy to hear that an Italian oil company, Eni Ltd, is investing $4 billion in the coming three years in the economy in spite of the downward spiral of oil prices,’’ the President said.
In his remarks, the Italian Prime Minister said his country will support Nigeria in the ongoing fight against corruption, terrorism and also encourage Italian companies to invest more in sectors that will enable growth and create jobs for Nigerians like power, agriculture and solid minerals.
“We discussed a lot about cooperation, about security. We chose to sign the important agreement to work together. We have also chosen to invest in energy and infrastructure,” Renzi added.
