By Ayomide Otitoju
Vice President Kashim Shettima has returned to Abuja after a week-long diplomatic and economic mission to Guinea-Conakry and Switzerland, asserting that Nigeria has regained a frontline role in regional and global policy discussions.
A statement from his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, said Shettima arrived at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on Saturday.
During the trip, the Vice President represented President Bola Tinubu at the inauguration of Guinea’s President, Mamadi Doumbouya, and led Nigeria’s delegation to the 56th World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos. He described the mission as a demonstration of Nigeria’s renewed commitment to regional solidarity in West Africa and its focus on repositioning the economy under the Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope agenda.
In Conakry, Shettima reaffirmed Nigeria’s leadership role within ECOWAS and explored new avenues for bilateral cooperation in agriculture and manufacturing.
From Guinea, he proceeded to Davos, where he led Nigeria’s delegation and oversaw the commissioning of Nigeria House Davos, the country’s first sovereign pavilion on the Davos Promenade. The pavilion serves as a permanent investment hub highlighting opportunities in solid minerals, agriculture, and the digital economy.
At a high-level WEF session titled “When Food Becomes Security,” Shettima outlined Nigeria’s new national food security framework, emphasising agriculture as a strategic pillar of national security and macroeconomic stability.
He also joined former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and Finance Minister Wale Edun to advance the Accra Reset Initiative, a forum advocating African industrialisation driven by domestic capital and value chains rather than foreign aid.
On economic matters, Shettima reassured investors that Nigeria’s macroeconomic indicators are stabilising, citing a projected 4.4% GDP growth in 2026 and a decline in inflation to 12.94%. He further highlighted Nigeria’s imminent emergence as a net exporter of refined petroleum products, anchored by the Dangote Refinery, alongside the growing export of digital talent.
