Shettima off to Cuba where he will attend developing nations' summit as part of quest for FDI

VICE president Kashim Shettima is leaving Nigeria for Cuba today where he will attend the G77+China Leaders’ Summit in Havana as part of the government's ongoing plans to woo investors and attract foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country.

Last week, President Bola Tinubu was at the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, where he sought to woo investors into Nigeria. On the sidelines of the summit, President Tinubu met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz where the two of them agreed on the need to boost Nigeria’s car manufacturing sector.

At that summit, Indian investors also indicated their readiness to facilitate fresh investments in Nigeria worth up to $14bn particularly in the petroleum and steel sectors as part of an industrial expansion involving both nations. Nigeria's fundamental problem as an economy is that she is not productive enough, so desperately needs to attract a lot more FDI to create jobs, boost economic output and create wealth.

At the G77+China Leaders’ Summit taking place from September 15 to 17, Vice president Shettima will join other world leaders, including the United Nations secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, to deliberate on development issues facing members. Nigeria is a founding member of the G77 group, established in 1964 by 77 developing countries.

Olusola Abiola, Mr Shettima's spokesman, said that on the sidelines of the summit, the vice president will 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. He added that the theme of the summit is Current Development Challenges: The Role of Science, Technology and Innovation.

This summit will explore proactive ways of addressing challenges facing the development of the member states, leveraging science, technology and innovation to enhance socio-economic growth. Vice president Shettima is accompanied by the agriculture minister Abubakar Kyari; Uche Nnaji, the minister of innovation, science and technology and Adamu Lamuwa, the permanent secretary in the ministry of foreign affairs.