Vice President Shettima will leave Abuja on Sunday to attend the 3rd BRI Forum in Beijing, China as a representative of President Tinubu.
The Vice-President’s delegation will include the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Tuggar, the Senator For Budget and Economic Planning, Mr ABI Bagudu, Senator Sa’idu Ahmed Aliu, the Senator For Works, Mr David Umahi, the Minister for Industry, Trade & Investment, Dr DOKIRUKUZOKA UZOKOKA-ANITA, and Michael Ohiani, MDIC.
The Forum is supposed to provide an avenue for Shettima to engage with investors for advanced development projects. Shettima is also expected to take part in the AfDB, a global dialogue facilitated by the World Food Prize, in the USA.
According to a release from the Vice-President’s Media Assistant, Mr Nwocha, the Forum is expected to bring together world leaders from more than 130 countries, with the aim of working together for shared development and prosperity.
He’s expected to meet with other leaders around the world to help build up the country’s trade as well as investment relations as intended with Tinubu’s government economic boost plans.
In 2023, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will be celebrating its 10th anniversary, which was launched by the Chinese government in 2013. It’s a global infrastructure development strategy that seeks to boost cooperation and investment in almost 70 countries around the world, both by land and sea. In 2018, Ex-President Buhari approved the BRI for Nigeria.
It’s expected that Nigeria and other partner countries will benefit from the BRI in terms of infrastructure investments, like ports and skyscrapers, as well as roads, bridges, dams, and power stations.
After his engagements in China, Shettima is expected to return to Nigeria for a series of meetings and engagements. He is expected to highlight the reforms that the Tinubu government has implemented in the Nigerian agri-food sector, as well as engage with stakeholders, partners, and investors on the opportunities for investment in Nigeria.
He will also be the special guest of the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) World Food Prize-facilitated Norman E. Borlaug International Dialoguing, which is to begin on October 24, 2023.
Shettima will meet other renounced African international leaders and Heads of State/Government who have spoken at the event in the past, such as Kofi Annan, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations and founder of AGRA (Agriculture, Nutrition, and Agriculture Research Council), Ghana President John Kufuor, AfDB President Akinwunmi Adesina, former President Oby Ezekwesanjo, Presidents Felix tshishiked, Joaquim Chissano, Joyce banda, Ameenah gurib-fakim, and Kanayo nwanze, among others.
