NEW DELHI, India – Vice President Kashim Shettima arrived in New Delhi on Friday, September 11, 2026, leading Nigeria’s high-level delegation to the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit, where the federal administration seeks to deepen multilateral alliances, attract foreign direct investments, and expand trade opportunities across emerging global economies, the State House announced in an official communique.
Representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, at the high-profile gathering, Senator Shettima will join heads of state and government from core member nations and partner states under the summit theme, “Building Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”
Okay News reports that the diplomatic mission follows Nigeria’s formal admission as an official BRICS partner country in January 2025, providing Africa’s most populous nation with an expanded platform to advance South-South cooperation, diversify export markets, and access development capital outside traditional Western financing channels.
The Vice President is leading a specialized ministerial contingent comprising the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole; the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani; and the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, alongside senior diplomatic aides.
Speaking to correspondents ahead of the opening plenary in New Delhi, Ambassador Odumegwu-Ojukwu disclosed that Nigeria’s diplomatic engagements will focus on securing bilateral commitments in agricultural technology, digital enterprise, artificial intelligence adoption, and industrial manufacturing.
The foreign minister emphasized that Nigeria is particularly keen on adapting India’s successful deployment of technology and artificial intelligence infrastructure to generate employment, stimulate enterprise, and upskill its vast youth demographic.
“India is firm in its expertise in agriculture and, of course, even in the digital economy. In fact, prior to this, we had a session dealing with women in the digital economy and artificial intelligence, and we are leveraging on India’s greatest strength, which is in the engagement of its youth population,” Odumegwu-Ojukwu stated.
Reinforcing the economic agenda, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Oduwole, noted that the Tinubu administration is actively working to expand bilateral commerce with India beyond historical levels that had previously reached $14 billion annually.
Dr. Oduwole revealed that several prominent Indian conglomerates and industrial investors have scheduled bilateral investment sessions with the Nigerian delegation on the sidelines of the summit, with talks centered on manufacturing partnerships and energy security.
“And so, deepening those relationships will further strengthen the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. India used to buy Nigerian oil quite a lot, so we are looking at how to expand that with everything going on in the world,” Oduwole explained, pointing to crude oil off-take opportunities amid evolving global energy markets.
According to an official statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications in the Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima will participate in both closed-door leaders’ sessions and the expanded BRICS open assembly, articulating Nigeria’s positions on inclusive global financial architecture reforms and climate financing.
The Nigerian delegation is also slated to attend business roundtables and strategic sectoral forums designed to pitch domestic economic reforms to international institutional investors throughout the duration of the summit.
