Yemisi Izuora
At the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations Systematic Observation Financing Facility (SOFF) workshop for Peer Advisors and Implementing Entities in Casablanca, the Director General/Chief Executive Officer (DG/CEO) of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Permanent Representative (PR) of Nigeria with the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) held a bilateral meeting with his counterpart from the Kingdom of Morocco, Mohammed DHKISSI, during a courtesy visit and a guided tour of the Directorate of General Meteorology.
The discussion centered on stronger joint collaboration in support of AI-based weather forecasting and early warning for all.
Mohammed DHKISSI and Prof. Anosike agreed to draft a Memorandum of Understanding and establish a framework to foster mutual support in the implementation of the WMO Integrated Global Observing System (WIGOS) Centre in Abuja, Nigeria; exchange of expertise and support in the implementation of an instrument calibration centre in Abuja; exchange of expertise and solutions in data management and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) between both countries; exchange of expertise in education and training, especially for instructors in French and English to promote a wider audience in the training institutions of both organisations; exchange of ideas and expertise in NiMet’s model of Agricultural Meteorology and associated stakeholders’ engagements; learning from NiMet’s experiences in the implementation of its SOFF Peer Advisory Services; and exchange of expertise in Numerical Weather Prediction and integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in numerical modelling.
While acknowledging the already existing cordial relationship between both organisations, which has seen Morocco supporting Nigeria in meteorological data exchange, participation in NiMet’s Stakeholders’ Engagement Forum, and Nigeria’s participation in ClimAfrica hosted by Morocco, both parties pledged to continue this tie with effective participation in future events of both parties, including cost recovery drives for climate resilience and sustainability of both organisations.