Shettima returns to Nigeria after attending WEF in Davos

Vice-President Kashim Shettima has returned to Nigeria after attending the 2025 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima’s spokesperson, announced the vice-president’s arrival in a statement issued on Friday.

Shettima departed Abuja on January 19 to attend the four-day forum alongside world leaders, top business executives, and representatives of development partners.

The vice-president co-chaired a forum on ‘Turning digital trade into a catalyst for growth in Africa’ at the Pischa Congress Centre and also spoke as a panelist at a dialogue focused on “Global risks 2025”.

During the panel session, Shettima said he did not subscribe to the idea of foreign aid as a solution to economic challenges in the global south.

Instead, the vice-president highlighted the need to invest in education, gender empowerment, and innovation to re-engineer African societies.

In another forum, he gave an assurance of Nigeria’s commitment to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

“He reaffirmed the nation’s resolve to leverage digital trade as a tool for economic transformation, projecting Africa’s potential to achieve a $29 trillion economy by 2050,” the statement reads.

Nkwocha said Shettima also held bilateral meetings with Cyril Ramaphosa, South African president, and Duma Boko, president of Botswana, on strengthening intra-African relations.

“Similarly, Shettima engaged in talks with the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the President of the World Economic Forum, Børge Brende,” he added.

“The discussions centered on collaborative efforts to address Africa’s challenges, including energy security, food crises, and ecological threats.”

At the forum, the vice-president said Nigeria is now on a path to sustained economic growth.