Pakistan’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), which assists the prime minister in policy, has approved the sale of JF-17 fighter jets to Nigeria.
The Express Tribune reported on October 24, 2018, that the ECC had signed off on “the issuance of a certificate of sovereign guarantee for the sale of three JF-17 aircraft to Nigerian Air Force against a sum of $184.3 million, to support the declining foreign exchange reserves.” According to the report, Nigeria did not utilize “bank loan or credit financing”; instead, Pakistan will issue a sovereign guarantee.
Furthermore, “The Finance Division has no objection to the issuance of a certificate of sovereign guarantee subject to the approval by the ECC and completion of all codal formalities,” according to the report.
The report did not indicate when the aircraft might be delivered to Nigeria, which has been looking to introduce the aircraft into service for the last few years and has included payments in recent defense budgets. Quwa, a research group focused on Pakistan, noted in July 2018 analysis that Nigeria was on track to complete payments for the JF-17 this year, which would pave the way for deliveries.
Earlier in October, Nigeria’s Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, pressed Pakistani officials on the possibility of ‘fast-tracking’ the JF-17 deal.
Military markets analyst, covering Eurasia, Middle East, and Africa.
