Saudi Arabian interest in African aviation sector continues; UAE to invest in Nigeria's Ibom Air
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has expressed interest in investing in Nigeria’s Ibom Air, a development seen as the next big thing in the country’s aviation industry.
February 07, 2020: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has expressed interest in investing in Nigeria's Ibom Air, a development seen as the next big thing in the country's aviation industry.
Reports indicate that the decision of the Arab country to invest in Africa's aviation industry was the discovery of the continent as revenue potential. Akwa Ibom, a Nigerian state came into the spotlight at the recently concluded 2020 Global Investment in Aviation Summit held in the UAE.
Nigerian state governor Udom Gabriel Emmanuel in the summit presented the ample investment opportunities in the state to which investors from the UAE indicated an interest in the completion and running of the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) of the facility at the Victor Attah International Airport.
Africa's aviation industry is seen as a potential for development and revenue generation, particularly for Middle East carriers. Fellow regional airline Qatar Airways is in negotiations with RwandAir to buy a 49 percent stake in Rwanda's state carrier RwandAir. In December 2019, the Qatari airline has agreed to take a 60 percent stake in Bugesera International Airport in Rwanda.
On February 05, the United States and Kenya have signed an amendment to the US-Kenya Air Transport Agreement for adding seventh-freedom traffic rights for all-cargo operations. The rights in the amendment facilitate the movement of goods throughout the world by providing air carriers greater flexibility to meet their cargo and express delivery customers' needs more efficiently.
At the same time, Cabo Verde Airlines and Africa World Airlines announced a close partnership to improve the connectivity in West Africa with Europe, North America, and South America.