Deji Elumoye in Abuja
Nigeria yesterday 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.
Specifically, Vice President Kashim Shettima, who restated the country’s position, assured that Nigeria 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 WTO, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on the sidelines of the ongoing BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi, India.
According to him: “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 also made a case for migration as an important driver of development, innovation and economic growth, noting that immigrants have historically contributed to the building of 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 explained.
Citing Nigerians in diaspora as an example, Shettima said Nigerians abroad have continued to distinguish themselves through education, enterprise and professional achievement.
“Recent Pew Research Centre 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 DG.
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 will present Nigeria’s partnership and foreign investment opportunities today when he speaks to leaders of the BRICS alliance at the ongoing summit themed, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”
While seeking a more inclusive international order, the vice president will reiterate the objective of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to create sustainable opportunities for its people through reforms, the expansion of infrastructure, and the promotion of private-sector-led growth.