Nigeria on Saturday reaffirmed its commitment to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the multilateral trading system, saying no country can prosper in isolation from the global community.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, who restated Nigeria’s position, assured that the country would continue to support the WTO in strengthening multilateralism and promoting a global system built on cooperation rather than isolation.
Shettima spoke during a meeting with the Director-General of the WTO, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on the sidelines of the ongoing BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi, India.
“I believe the world is greater than one nation. We will continue to support the WTO in championing the cause of multilateralism. We are essentially one human family and interconnected. You cannot divorce yourself from the global community,” the Vice President said.
Shettima also made a case for migration as an important driver of development, innovation and economic growth, noting that immigrants have historically contributed to building nations and cities across the world.
“Nations are built by immigrants. Even cities are built by people who came from outside, not just by the locals. That goes to show that we have so much to gain from global migration,” he said.
Citing the Nigerian diaspora as an example, Shettima said Nigerians abroad had continued to distinguish themselves through education, enterprise and professional achievement.
“Recent Pew Research Center analysis of 2024 US Census Bureau data showed that 67 per cent of Nigerian-born Black immigrants aged 25 and above in the United States held at least a bachelor’s degree, the highest proportion among the major Black immigrant groups examined,” he stated.
The Vice President also commended Okonjo-Iweala for her leadership of the WTO, urging her to continue deploying her experience in the service of global development.
“You are doing a very wonderful job at the WTO, but you still have a lot to contribute to humanity,” he told the WTO Director-General.
Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman and first African to head the WTO, began her second four-year term as Director-General in September 2025.
Meanwhile, Shettima is expected on Sunday to present Nigeria’s partnership and foreign investment opportunities when he addresses leaders of the BRICS alliance at the summit, themed, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”
The Vice President is expected to make a case for a more inclusive international order while presenting Nigeria as a destination for investment and international partnerships.
He will also reiterate the objectives of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, including creating sustainable opportunities through economic reforms, infrastructure expansion and the promotion of private-sector-led growth.
Deji Elumoye
Follow us on:
