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Air Peace to open flow as Israel agrees non-stop flights from Nigeria

Published

2 years ago

March 27, 2023

The ministry of transport in Israel has agreed on a deal that will allow Nigerian airlines non-stop flights between the countries to begin.

The deal, which is the first time of such will kick off next month according to Israel’s transport minister

Subject to parliament approval, the agreement will let carriers from the two countries operate flights between Tel Aviv and cities in Nigeria, like Lagos and Abuja.

According to the ministry said, It will facilitate a smoother pilgrimage for Christians to the Holy Land. The trip currently requires a stopover, usually in Turkey or Ethiopia.

Israeli Transport Minister Miri Regev said that Nigeria “maintains close ties with Israel in a wide variety of fields, alongside heavy traffic of pilgrims coming to Israel to visit the holy places in Christianity.”

Launching direct flights, she said, “will contribute to the strengthening of the business and cultural ties between the nations and between the governments.”

As a highly religious country, Nigerians are big on pilgrimage. In 2022, the Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC) said at least 10,000 faithful travelled to Israel for religious purposes.

Nigeria’s Air Peace will be the first airline to fly directly, operating twice weekly flights beginning April 20, the ministry said.

Relations between Israel and Nigeria first established diplomatic, cultural, and economic ties officially in 1960 after Nigerian independence.

Israel contributed significantly to the development of Nigeria as well as other Sub-Saharan African countries in the 1960’s and 1970’s by sending Israeli experts and volunteers to modernize Africa’s agriculture and teach African farmers sustainable farming techniques.

Related Topics:Air Peace Featured Israel Nigeria

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IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

1 hour ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.