Shettima departs Abuja to represent Tinubu at 15th BRIC summit in South Africa

Vice President Kashim Shettima will represent President Bola Tinubu at the 15th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit in South Africa.

The conference that will hold in Johannesburg between August 22 and 24, will be a hotspot for deliberation on issues of trade and investment facilitation, sustainable development, innovation, and global governance reform. 

The summit will also focus on global geopolitics and infrastructure development as the body continues its outreach to leaders from Africa and the global south.

According to Olusola Abiola, the director of information in the office of the vice president, senior government officials will accompany Shettima on the trip.

Prominent leaders expected to attend include Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa; Xi Jinping, president of China; Luiz Lula da Silva, president of Brazil, and Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India.

The statement added that Antonio Guterres,  the secretary-general of the United Nations (UN), the chairperson of the African Union (AU) and the president of the New Development Bank are also expected at the summit. 

The BRICS group accounts for more than 42 percent of the world’s population and 30 percent of its territory.

The group also represents 23 percent of the global economy and 18 percent of its trade.

One of the founding values of the BRICS is a shared commitment to restructuring the global political, economic and financial architecture to be fair, balanced and representative resting on pillars of multilateralism and international law.

On July 23, Shettima represented Tinubu at the Russia-Africa summit which took place in St. Petersburg, Russia.

At the event, the vice president wooed investors to Nigeria and assured them that the Tinubu government is determined to consolidate on industrialising Nigeria and diversifying its economy into sectors that the country has a comparative advantage.