By TheDailyNewsHub
Vice President Kashim Shettima has returned to Nigeria after representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi, India.
Shettima arrived at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, in the early hours of Tuesday, September 15, according to a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha.
The Vice President had departed Abuja on September 11 to lead Nigeria’s delegation to the summit, which brought together leaders and representatives of BRICS member and partner countries. Nigeria became a BRICS partner country in January 2025.
During the summit, Shettima delivered Nigeria’s position on global governance and economic cooperation, calling for reforms to international institutions and greater representation for developing countries.
He also urged BRICS countries to move beyond declarations towards practical cooperation that delivers measurable development outcomes, highlighting opportunities for collaboration in trade, agriculture, food security, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, healthcare and critical minerals.
On the sidelines of the summit, Shettima held a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Their discussions focused significantly on economic relations between Nigeria and India.
Modi called for renewed Indian purchases of Nigerian crude oil as both countries seek to rebuild bilateral trade towards its previous peak of almost $15 billion. Trade between the two countries fell from $14.95 billion in 2021–2022 to $7.13 billion in 2024–2025, before recovering to about $9 billion in 2025–2026.
Shettima said Nigeria would consider India’s request, while stressing that Abuja wants the relationship to extend beyond the traditional exchange of commodities.
The Vice President identified pharmaceuticals, defence, digital technology, fintech, healthcare, renewable energy, power generation and the creative industries as areas with potential for deeper cooperation, particularly investments that can create jobs, transfer technology and support domestic production.
Shettima also met with World Trade Organisation Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala during the summit and reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to multilateral trade and the WTO.
His return marks the conclusion of Nigeria’s participation in the New Delhi summit, with the Federal Government expected to follow up on the economic and diplomatic engagements held during the visit.
The BRICS summit itself concluded with a joint declaration covering issues including economic cooperation, global governance and international trade.