The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the World Maritime University, Malmo Sweden to develop human capacity for the Nigerian maritime sector.
Speaking shortly after the signing of the MoU, the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, who led a delegation from Nigeria to Malmo, expressed optimism that the MoU would help the agency realise its strategic plans to reposition the Nigerian maritime sector for greater efficiency, adding that it is in line with the ongoing reforms being championed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to him, “This MoU with WMU is an important element of the strategic reforms and repositioning of NIMASA to be the leading maritime administration in Africa. This is also part of ongoing reforms of the maritime sector in Nigeria which the President of Nigeria and Minister of Transportation are championing. The partnership with WMU is in line with the four pillar of NIMASA’s medium term growth plan which addresses capacity building and particularly raising a new generation of forward looking Maritime policy makers and regulators.”
The MoU, he added, covers academic, collaborative and reciprocal activities in the fields of training and research to be provided by WMU geared towards building capacity to grow the Nigerian maritime industry.
“Arrangements relating to fellowship funding for the WMU M.Sc programme are included as well as the M.Phil programme offered in cooperation with the IMO International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI) in Malta. Further, the MoU provides for NIMASA officers to take advantage of WMU’s distance learning portfolio as well as Executive Professional Development Courses to reinforce the capacity of its staff,” he stated.
Peterside, who expressed gratitude to the President and management of WMU for their cooperation, also gave a firm commitment that NIMASA would actively implement the provisions of the MoU.
On her part, the President of the WMU, Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry embraced the signing of the MoU and expressed optimism that it would help support Nigeria’s economic growth and the competitiveness of its maritime industry, adding that it also supported the WMU’s commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In her words: “We are delighted with the engagement with NIMASA in the framework of this MoU which will set the stage for a new partnership with Nigeria. It will also help support Nigeria’s economic growth and the competitiveness of its maritime industry as well as advance the maritime interest of the country. This MoU also supports WMU’s commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Goal 4 which focuses on ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all; and Goal 14 which covers ocean issues, including maritime.”
