The Indonesian Ambas – sador to Nigeria Usra Harahap, says both countries share similar defence and security experiences and interests, and are working closely to deepen collaboration against terrorism.

The retired military officer said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja.

Harahap stated that during his six-year tenure in Nigeria and ECOWAS, he had utilised his military experience to strengthen Indonesia’s diplomaticmilitary engagements in the subregion.

According to him, his concurrent accreditation as ambassador to ECOWAS enabled him to engage with Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, particularly during their threat to withdraw from the regional bloc.

He said: “The development of relations between the two countries is very dynamic. In various fields, relations between governments are getting better.

“As you know, I have a military background. But, you know, a military background does not mean I’m not able to do a diplomatic job because diplomatic action is a kind of war without a weapon.

“We come here to share experience because we know Nigeria has a lot of experience in solving the problem of terrorism through counter-terrorism. And also, Indonesia, we have plenty of experience in that.”