By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
Vice President Kashim Shettima will represent President Bola Tinubu at the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi, India, as Nigeria moves to deepen bilateral ties, expand economic cooperation and advance its strategic interests with key international partners.
This was disclosed in a State House press release signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, on Friday, 11 September, 2026.
According to the statement, world leaders are converging on New Delhi for the summit scheduled for the weekend at Bharat Mandapam, with India’s 2026 BRICS Chairship anchored on the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”
The statement explained that the engagement would provide Nigeria with another platform to strengthen partnerships in trade and investment, energy, agriculture, solid minerals, technology and innovation, while promoting greater cooperation among countries of the Global South.
Deliberations at the summit, it noted, are expected to cover political and security cooperation, economic and financial partnerships, as well as cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
While in New Delhi, Shettima is expected to join leaders of BRICS member and partner nations, alongside other invited dignitaries, at plenary and high-level sessions examining global economic growth, multilateral cooperation and shared development priorities.
The statement disclosed that the Vice President would also hold bilateral engagements with leaders and senior officials of participating countries, with discussions expected to focus on opportunities for deeper economic and diplomatic cooperation with Nigeria.
Nigeria, a BRICS partner country since January 2025, is using the summit to deepen South-South cooperation and engage some of the world’s largest emerging economies on trade, investment, development finance and reform of global governance institutions.
According to the statement, the country’s participation aligns with President Tinubu’s drive to strengthen Nigeria’s international economic partnerships, attract 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, with the grouping seeking greater practical cooperation among its expanding network of member and partner countries.
The statement disclosed that Shettima would return to Nigeria shortly after participating in the summit.
