Vice-President Kashim Shettima is set to travel to New Delhi, India, to represent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit scheduled to take place this weekend.
Shettima’s planned trip comes as President Tinubu continues his vacation in Europe, with the Vice-President expected to lead Nigeria’s delegation to the high-level gathering of BRICS member and partner countries.
The Vice-President’s spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, disclosed that Nigeria would use its participation at the summit to strengthen bilateral relations with key international partners and advance the country’s economic and strategic interests.
According to Nkwocha, the summit will provide Nigeria with another opportunity to expand cooperation in several critical areas, including trade, investment, energy, agriculture, solid minerals, technology and innovation. He said the engagement would also support greater cooperation among countries of the Global South.
India’s 2026 BRICS headship is anchored on the theme, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”
Deliberations at the summit are expected to focus on political and security cooperation, economic and financial partnerships, cultural exchanges and broader people-to-people relations.
While in New Delhi, Shettima is expected to participate in plenary and high-level sessions alongside leaders of BRICS member and partner countries and other invited dignitaries.
The discussions are expected to examine issues relating to global economic growth, multilateral cooperation and shared development priorities.
Shettima is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with leaders and senior government officials from participating countries.
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The engagements are expected to explore opportunities for deeper economic and diplomatic cooperation between Nigeria and other participating countries, particularly in areas that could attract investment and expand trade.
Nigeria became a BRICS partner country in January 2025, giving the country another platform to deepen South-South cooperation and strengthen its engagement with emerging economies.
Through the partnership, Nigeria is seeking greater opportunities in trade, investment, development finance and discussions around reforms to global governance institutions.
Nkwocha said Nigeria’s participation was consistent with Tinubu’s efforts to strengthen the country’s international economic partnerships, attract foreign investment and create wider markets for Nigerian products.
He identified agriculture, energy, minerals and other non-oil sectors as areas where Nigeria would seek to expand its international economic engagement.
The summit comes as BRICS marks two decades since its establishment and continues to pursue greater practical cooperation among its expanding membership and network of partner countries.
Shettima’s trip to India follows a period of separate international engagements by both the President and Vice-President.
When Tinubu departed Nigeria for his European vacation, Shettima was in Angola attending the 21st Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union.
The absence of both leaders from the country at the same time attracted criticism from opposition figures.
However, Shettima returned to Nigeria less than 48 hours after Tinubu’s departure, before preparing for the latest international engagement in India.
His representation of the President at the BRICS summit is expected to provide Nigeria with an opportunity to engage directly with leaders and senior officials from emerging economies while promoting the country’s economic and diplomatic priorities.
Daily Trust
