The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, will represent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the 15th BRICS Summit of Heads of State and Government in Johannesburg, South Africa.
This was revealed on Monday by VP Shettima’s spokesperson, Olusola Abiola, who also indicated that his boss would leave Abuja today.
The Vice President will attend the Summit, which will take place from August 22 to August 24, 2023, at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, according to Abiola.
According to Abiola, prominent world leaders including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Luiz Lula da Silva, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are anticipated to attend the event.
The spokeswoman for Shettima also stated that 73 dignitaries, including the president of the New Development Bank (NDB), the chairwoman of the African Union Commission, and the secretary-general of the United Nations (UN), have been invited.
“The summit is expected to deliberate on issues on trade and investment facilitation, sustainable development, innovation, and global governance reform,” added Abiola.
“It will also continue its outreach to Leaders from Africa and the global south as it focuses on global geopolitics, trade, and infrastructure development.”
BRICS, an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is a group of five major emerging and developing economies.
The BRICS group accounts for more than 42% of the world’s population, 30% of the world’s territory, 23% of the global economy, and 18% of global trade.
One of its founding values is the shared commitment to restructure the global political, economic, and financial architecture to be fair, balanced, and representative, resting on the pillars of multilateralism and international law.
“The Vice President is accompanied on the trip by some senior government officials, and he is expected back in the country at the end of the week,” Abiola stated.
