The commitment was affirmed during the second Indonesia-Africa Forum, held from September 1-3, 2024, in Bali, Indonesia.

Representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, led the Nigerian delegation to the high-level multi-stakeholder partnerships and the joint leaders session.

The minister reiterated Nigeria’s dedication to fostering a stronger partnership with Indonesia, emphasizing that both regions stood to gain significantly from enhanced cooperation in trade, investment, and the exchange of knowledge and expertise.

“The Indonesia-Africa Forum is a catalyst for a new era of cooperation, aimed at propelling both our countries toward a brighter and more prosperous future,” said Minister Idris. “Nigeria is committed to leveraging our shared strengths and resources to focus on critical pillars such as economic transformation, energy and mining, food and health security, and the digital economy. These are the foundations upon which our future cooperation will be built, driving inclusive and sustainable economic growth beneficial to all our nations.”

The forum highlighted the significant economic and demographic potential of Africa and Indonesia, which together represent over 1.7 billion people and a combined GDP of USD 4.4 trillion.

READ ALSO: When hunger, malnutrition and death stalks a nation

The event brought together Heads of State, government officials, business leaders, and stakeholders from across the regions to discuss economic cooperation, address global challenges, and explore avenues for mutual sustainable growth and development.

Nigeria’s leadership in advancing the African Union’s Agenda 2063 was also a focal point during the discussions.

The minister emphasized President Tinubu’s comprehensive agenda for economic reforms, security, governance, and social development at the national level, as well as his efforts to enhance regional trade, infrastructure, and political stability through his leadership in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Nigeria’s active participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was noted as a key driver for boosting intra-African trade and industrialization.

The event, attended by delegates from 22 African countries and five non-African countries, also paid homage to the 1955 Asia-Africa Forum, known as the Bandung Spirit, which laid the groundwork for Asia-Africa relations.

The meeting called for increased interaction between the continents in terms of trade, investment, and development cooperation.

It was emphasized that Africa should move beyond being a mere exporter of raw materials to becoming a centre of production, with specific recognition given to the trans-Saharan Gas pipeline projects between Nigeria, Algeria, and Morocco.

The Indonesia-Africa Forum serves as a strategic platform to bolster economic ties between Indonesia and African nations.

The forum facilitates dialogue, fosters partnerships, and promotes sustainable development through collaboration in key sectors such as trade, investment, energy, and the digital economy.

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In the draw conducted on Friday in Zurich, Switzerland, hosts Indonesia were drawn in Group A alongside one of Africa’s representative Morocco, Ecuador and Panama.

Mali, flying the Africa’s flag in Group B were drawn to do battle with Spain, Canada and Uzbekistan.

Group C would see a mouth-watering clash between the past two winners of the tournament, Brazil and England, with, Iran and New Caledonia do battle.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: Tinubu nominates new CBN governor, four deputies

Burkina Faso were drawn in Group E alongside France, Korea Republic and USA.

The full draw is as follows:

Group A: Indonesia, Ecuador, Panama, Morocco

Group B: Spain, Canada, Mali, Uzbekistan

Group C: Brazil, Iran, New Caledonia, England,

Group D: Japan, Poland, Argentina, Senegal

Group E: France, Burkina Faso, Korea Republic, USA

Group F: Mexico, Germany, Venezuela, New Zealand.

The Golden Eaglets of Nigeria who are record five-time champions did not qualify for the tournament.

The 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup holds in Indonesia from November 10 to December 2.

Source: NAN

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The Nigerian team, after their opening 71-79 loss to Cape Verde on Friday when the window one of matches began, had gone on to beat Mali 72-70 on Saturday.

The resurgence saw them taking control of the group on Sunday with an overwhelming defeat of the East Africans.

The FIBA world-ranked 23 team took the game by the cuff from the jump-ball at the City Arena in the Angolan city of Benguela by winning the first quarter 25-18.

The second quarter was almost a replica of the first, with a 28-19 win, while D’Tigers strolled through the third quarter 14-8.

The fourth quarter saw the Ugandans fighting back harder in order to restore some prestige, but the Nigerian side were unstoppable for them as they won 28-24.

Team leader Ike Diogu was again inspirational with 27 points and 10 rebounds.

16 African teams are competing in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers through five tournament windows over 15 months.

The Qualifiers run from November 2021 to February 2023, with five African national teams earning a spot in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.

The World Cup is scheduled for August 25 to September 10, 2023 in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines.

The second window of the first round of qualifiers will open in February.

Source: NAN

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The Sriwijaya Air jet was carrying 62 people when it disappeared from radar four minutes into its journey to Pontianak in West Kalimantan province.

On Sunday, signals thought to be from the jet’s flight recorder were traced.

More than 10 ships have now been deployed to the site with navy divers.

“We have detected signals in two points, this could be the black box,” the chief of Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, Bagus Puruhito, said.

Investigators are also analysing items they believe to be wreckage from the aircraft, including a wheel and what they say could be part of the plane’s fuselage.

A spokesman for the Jakarta police, Yusri Yunus, said two bags had been received from the search and rescue agency.

“The first bag contained passengers’ properties, another bag contained body parts,” he told reporters, adding: “We are still identifying these findings.”

Search and rescue efforts were suspended overnight but resumed early on Sunday.

Four planes have also been deployed to help with the search.

The missing aircraft is not a 737 Max, the Boeing model that was grounded from March 2019 until last December following two deadly crashes.

What happened to the aircraft?

The Sriwijaya Air passenger plane departed Jakarta airport at 14:36 local time (07:36 GMT) on Saturday.

Minutes later, at 14:40, the last contact with the plane was recorded, with the call sign SJY182, according to the transport ministry.

The usual flight time to Pontianak, in the west of the island of Borneo, is 90 minutes.

The aircraft did not send a distress signal, according to the head of national search and rescue agency Air Marshal Bagus Puruhito.

It is thought to have dropped more than 3,000m (10,000ft) in less than a minute, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24.com.

Witnesses said they had seen and heard at least one explosion.

Fisherman Solihin, who goes by one name, told the BBC Indonesian service he had witnessed a crash and his captain decided to return to land.

“The plane fell like lightning into the sea and exploded in the water,” he said. “It was pretty close to us, the shards of a kind of plywood almost hit my ship.”

A number of residents of an island near where the plane disappeared told the BBC they had found objects they thought were from the plane.

Who was on board the flight?

There were thought to be 50 passengers – including seven children and three babies – and 12 crew on board, though the plane has a capacity of 130.

Everyone on board was Indonesian, officials say.

Relatives of the passengers have been waiting anxiously at the airport in Pontianak, as well as at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

“I have four family members on the flight – my wife and my three children,” Yaman Zai told reporters through tears.

“[My wife] sent me a picture of the baby today… How could my heart not be torn into pieces?”

What do we know about the plane?

According to registration details, the plane was a 26-year-old Boeing 737-500.

It was in good condition, Sriwijaya Air chief executive Jefferson Irwin Jauwena told reporters.

Take-off had been delayed for 30 minutes due to heavy rain, he said.

Sriwijaya Air, founded in 2003, is a local budget airline which flies to Indonesian and other South-East Asian destinations.

The plane went missing about 20km (12 miles) north of the capital Jakarta, not far from where another flight crashed in October 2018.

A total of 189 died when an Indonesian Lion Air flight plunged into the sea about 12 minutes after take-off from the city.

That disaster was blamed on a series of failures in the plane’s design, but also faults by the airline and the pilots.

It was one of two crashes that led regulators to pull the Boeing 737 Max from service.

The model resumed passenger flights in December after a systems overhaul.

The BBC’s Jerome Wirawan in Jakarta says the latest events will bring up difficult questions and emotions in Indonesia, whose airline industry has faced intense scrutiny since the Lion Air crash.

Source: BBC

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The plane, according to a BBC report, crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.

Flight JT 610 was on a scheduled flight to Pangkal Pinang, the main town in the Bangka Belitung Islands, but lost contact with ground control a few minutes after take-off.

It is believed to have ended up underwater.

There cause of the crash is not yet known and there has been no word yet of any survivors.

The plane was a Boeing 737 MAX 8, a brand new type of aircraft.

“The plane crashed into water about 30m to 40m deep,” Search and Rescue Agency spokesman Yusuf Latif told AFP news agency.

“We’re still searching for the remains of the plane.”

Some materials believed to belong to passengers have been found in the water, including ID cards and driver’s licences.

“We don’t know yet whether there are any survivors,” the agency’s head, Muhmmad Syaugi, told reporters.

“We hope, we pray, but we cannot confirm.”

At an earlier news conference, officials said the plane had been carrying 178 adults, one infant and two babies, as well as two pilots and five cabin crew.

However, there are conflicting reports on the exact number of people on board.

The plane was due to arrive at Depati Amir airport in Pangkal Pinang an hour later but 13 minutes into the flight, authorities lost contact with it.

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He said it was a natural disaster that was beyond the power of humans to control.

The president made the remark on Saturday when commiserating with the people of Indonesia.

In a message to the people of the country, Buhari said the natural disaster which claimed nearly 400 lives was devastating beyond description.

He said notwithstanding the distance, the people of Nigeria “remain connected to them by our bond of common humanity, and such bond creates automatic empathy and sympathy for the pains and tribulations of others.”

He said his administration and the entire people of Nigeria were with Indonesia at their “difficult and tough moment when you struggle hard to minimise the impact of this tragedy and in your efforts to provide temporary relief and comfort to the affected victims.”

He prayed for God’s protection against further occurrence and comfort for victims.

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