Vice President Kashim Shettima has departed Abuja on Wednesday to represent President Bola Tinubu at the G77+ China Leaders’ Summit in Havana, Cuba from September 15 to 17, 2023.
According to a statement by his media office, VP Shettima will be joining other world leaders, including the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Gutteres, at the Summit to deliberate on development issues facing members mostly from the global south.
The Summit will equally explore proactive ways of addressing challenges facing the development of the member-states, leveraging science, technology and innovation to enhance socio-economic growth.
Also, Vice President Shettima will on the sidelines of the Summit hold bilateral meetings with other world leaders to promote Nigeria’s trade and investment relations in line with the economic development diplomacy of the Tinubu administration.
The Havana Summit is being hosted by the President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel in his capacity as Chairman of the G77 and China, under the theme: “Current Development Challenges: The Role of Science, Technology and Innovation.”
Nigeria is a founding member of the G77 group which was established in 1964 by seventy-seven developing countries. The group – a coalition of 134 developing countries with 80% of world population, aims to promote its members’ collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations.
The Vice President is accompanied on the trip by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Abubakar Kyari; Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Adamu Lamuwa, amongst other government functionaries.
