Nigeria and Israel have signed an agreement allowing direct air travel between both countries, several news outlets report.

American media outlets reported this past week that Nigeria and Israel signed a Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) last Wednesday allowing direct air travel between both countries. This would be the third such agreement Israel has with an African country; the others are South Africa, and Ethiopia. 

ABC News reports that the motivation behind the agreement was to encourage Nigerian Christians to visit the Holy Land as well as to encourage international business between the two countries. 

Nigeria, like other African countries, does not have the best safety record: the announcement comes on the heels of a plane crash this past Thursday at Lagos airport, one day after the agreement was signed. No statements have been made about whether or not this would change the terms of the agreement.