JUST IN: Shettima departs Abuja for Sweden

Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, is set to depart Abuja on Wednesday for a two-day official visit to Sweden, where he will represent the country in key bilateral engagements.

According to a statement from Stanley Nkwocha, the Vice President’s spokesman, the visit is at the request of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The trip is expected to strengthen Nigeria’s international partnerships and promote diplomatic relations with Sweden, focusing on areas of mutual interest and cooperation.

“The Vice President is expected back in the country on Saturday. While in Sweden, the Vice President, will engage in high-level bilateral talks with key government officials, including a meeting with Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and the Swedish Prime Minister,” he said.

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The spokesman said while in Sweden, the Vice President will use the visit to explore opportunities for strengthened collaboration between Nigeria and Sweden in areas such as ICT, innovation, education, digitalisation, sustainable transport, mining, and agriculture.

He will also meet with key stakeholders in both the Government and Private Sector.

The Vice President “will also meet with Norrsken, a Stockholm-based venture capital impact investor, which recently launched Norrsken22, a USD 205 million tech investment fund for Africa.

“Norrsken22 is a technology growth fund, backed by over 30 prominent unicorn founders, partnering with exceptional entrepreneurs building Africa’s next tech giants.

“The meeting with Norrsken will provide insights into how Nigerian entrepreneurs can benefit from this fund and further strengthen the technology ecosystem in Nigeria.

” Notably, 40% of the investments from Norrsken22 are expected to be allocated to Nigerian technology entrepreneurs.”

According to Mr Nkwocha “twelve (12) Nigerian private sector companies that are doing business with Sweden are going independently as a private sector bloc.

“While in Sweden, VP Shettima is also expected to articulate Nigeria’s economic vision and the reforms being undertaken by the administration to create a business-friendly environment in Nigeria for investors.”

The development comes as the two-week trip of Tinubu expires today.

Tinubu had departed for the UK on October 2, 2024.