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The Federal Government has requested the reinstatement of the bilateral air services agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and Italy to improve direct flights and trade between the two countries.
At the Nigeria-Italy Investment Summit 2025 (NIIS 2025) in Abuja on Wednesday, the director of economic trade and investment at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Anderson Madubuike, called for the reinstatement of bilateral air services.
The theme of the summit, which is organised by Giant Gee Nigeria Limited in association with the Italian embassy in Abuja and the Nigerian embassy in Rome, is ‘Building Bridges: Unlocking Opportunities’.
Eucharia Eze, the ministry’s deputy director, spoke on behalf of Madubuike, who emphasized the difficulties passengers encounter as a result of Alitalia’s operations being suspended in Nigeria, which has caused disruptions to direct travel between Nigeria and Italy.
“Since Alitalia ceased operations, it has become difficult for passengers to travel directly between our countries,” he said.
The director explained that a renewed BASA would contribute to the economic transformation of both nations.
According to him, the BASA agreement has the potential that could unleash unrealized economic potential between Nigeria and Italy which shared a longstanding ties in areas like trade, investment, agriculture, and technological development.
“Italy is a significant trading partner for Nigeria. Both countries aim to diversify their economies and attract foreign direct investment,” Madubuike said.
“I believe this summit will help foster impactful partnerships.”
In order to ease travels between the two nations, Augustine Chigbolu, the managing director of Giant Gee Nigeria Limited, emphasised the significance of reintroducing an Italian airline service.
Chigbolu said the summit is a dynamic platform to promote sustainable growth and meaningful partnerships between the two countries, pointing out that travel between Nigeria and Italy now takes 16 to 18 hours due to layovers, rather than the previous five-hour direct flight.
Italian entrepreneur Roberto Bocca predicted that the resuscitation of Alitalia flights would boost trade and investment prospects, especially in industries like aviation , energy , and infrastructure.
Bocca expressed hope that Nigeria would emerge as a major market for Italian companies highlighting Italy’s continued investments in Africa.
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