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ABUJA, NIGERIA — The Federal Government has moved to revive local military hardware production as the Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Muhammed Matawalle, leads a high-level delegation to the Czech Republic to secure technology transfer and an ammunition production line for the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria, DICON.
The three-day official working visit was disclosed in a press release issued on Sunday by the Ministry of Defence and signed by Queeneth Iheoma-Hart, Chief Information Officer, Information and Public Relations.
According to the statement, Matawalle is leading a delegation comprising senior officials of the Ministry of Defence, DICON, and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, NASENI.
The delegation attended the Czech Air Force Day/Air Show and Defence Exhibition in Ostrava, where modern and heavy defence equipment produced by the Czech defence industry were on display.
On the sidelines of the exhibition, Matawalle held a strategic bilateral meeting with his counterpart, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic, Lt. Gen. Jaromír Zuna (Rtd).
Discussions at the meeting centred on strengthening the existing strategic partnership between Nigeria and the Czech Republic and deepening cooperation towards enhancing the manufacturing and production capacity of DICON. 
The statement said Matawalle specifically pressed for a partnership to establish an ammunition production line in Nigeria.
The issue of Transfer of Technology, ToT, to Nigeria, particularly in the area of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, UAVs, and other military hardware, was also extensively discussed by both Ministers.
In his response, the Czech Defence Minister expressed delight over the visit and assured Matawalle of his country’s readiness and willingness to collaborate with and support Nigeria in enhancing DICON’s defence production capabilities, including the requisite transfer of technology.
As part of the visit, the Minister is also scheduled to tour several defence and security industrial complexes across the Czech Republic.
The visit comes amid renewed Federal Government efforts to make DICON self-sustaining and to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported arms and ammunition in the face of prevailing security challenges.
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