Vice President Kashim Shettima will represent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit scheduled to hold in New Delhi, India, this weekend.
The summit will provide Nigeria with an opportunity to strengthen bilateral relations, deepen economic cooperation and advance its strategic interests with key international partners.
According to a statement issued on Friday by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Shettima will participate in plenary and high-level sessions with leaders of BRICS member and partner countries.
The discussions are expected to focus on global economic growth, multilateral cooperation and shared development priorities.
India’s 2026 BRICS chairmanship is anchored on the theme, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”
The summit is expected to address political and security cooperation, economic and financial partnerships, as well as cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
While in New Delhi, Shettima is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with leaders and senior officials from participating countries.
The engagements will focus on opportunities for deeper economic and diplomatic cooperation, particularly in trade, investment, energy, agriculture, solid minerals, technology and innovation.
Nigeria became a BRICS partner country in January 2025, giving it an additional platform to strengthen South-South cooperation and engage major emerging economies on trade, investment, development finance and reforms to global governance institutions.
The Federal Government said Nigeria’s participation was consistent with Tinubu’s efforts to strengthen international economic partnerships, attract foreign investment and expand markets for Nigerian products, particularly in agriculture, energy, minerals and other non-oil sectors.
The summit comes as BRICS marks 20 years since its establishment and seeks to deepen practical cooperation among its expanding membership and network of partner countries.
Shettima is expected to return to Nigeria shortly after the summit.
