BRICS Summit: VP Shettima Returns to Abuja After High-Stakes India Trade Talks

Vice President Kashim Shettima is back in Nigeria after the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi, India.

During his time at the summit, Senator Shettima engaged in crucial meetings to boost digital technology partnerships, trade, and investment.

Key Bilateral Deals: Oil, Fintech, and Pharmaceuticals

A major highlight of the Vice President’s diplomatic mission was a high-profile bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders held extensive talks focused on mutual economic growth, resulting in plans to renew and expand crude oil trade agreements between Nigeria and India.

Both countries also discussed critical areas of deepening cross-border cooperation in pharmaceuticals, defense manufacturing, and renewable energy.

Leveraging India’s huge capacity in tech, the VP explored partnerships on strengthening Nigeria’s digital economy in fintech and advanced digital infrastructure.

Vice President Shettima also held pivotal talks with the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Their discussion reaffirmed Nigeria’s unwavering commitment to multilateralism and advocated for a more inclusive global economic framework.

Nigeria’s Core Message at BRICS 2026

Delivering a strong message on behalf of President Bola Tinubu, Shettima utilized the BRICS platform to challenge the current international status quo, focusing on global governance reforms within global financial institutions and international governance bodies.

Background: Why Nigeria’s Presence at BRICS Matters

While Nigeria is not yet a formal member of the BRICS economic bloc—which originally comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa before its recent expansions—the country remains highly proactive in engaging with the alliance.

As Africa’s largest economy and most populous nation, Nigeria’s diplomatic push at the 18th Leaders’ Summit highlights its strategy of multi-alignment.

Nigeria hopes to use the BRICS platform to attract alternative development financing and foster robust technical alliances to accelerate economic growth.