Minister of Aviation and Earospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has held a series of high-level meetings with major aircraft and equipment manufacturers at the El Alamein International Airshow, making a strong pitch for infrastructure upgrades across the country’s airports.
The engagements, which took place on Tuesday on the sidelines of the second edition of the Egyptian event, signal Abuja’s renewed push to attract foreign technical partnerships in a sector long plagued by dilapidated runways, outdated navigation systems, and overcrowded terminals.
Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said the discussions with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) focused on “practical areas of collaboration,” though he stopped short of naming specific firms or projects.
“The occasion afforded us the opportunity to meet major OEMs from around the world and engage in discussions regarding upgrading our aviation infrastructure across the country,” the minister said in a statement. “These engagements are important as we continue to position Nigeria’s aviation industry for greater efficiency, safety, competitiveness and sustainable growth.”
The airshow, presided over by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and attended by Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides, has emerged as a key networking platform for African and Middle Eastern aviation stakeholders. For Nigeria, it offered a rare opportunity to court global players amid growing regional competition for aerospace investment.
In a separate meeting, Keyamo held talks with the Saudi Arabian delegation, where discussions centred on early logistics planning for the 2027 Hajj. The minister stressed the need for a head start in coordinating airlift arrangements for Nigerian pilgrims—a recurring challenge that has often led to delays and logistical bottlenecks in previous years.
The engagement with Riyadh is expected to feed into broader preparations for next year’s pilgrimage, particularly around charter flight scheduling, passenger handling, and real-time coordination with Saudi aviation authorities.
Neither the Ministry nor the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority have issued a follow-up timeline on the OEM discussions, but industry watchers will be watching closely for any concrete proposals emerging from the talks.
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