By Bello Wakili
Nigeria has reaffirmed its commitment to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the multilateral trading system, stressing that 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 based on cooperation rather than isolation.
Shettima spoke on Saturday during a meeting with the WTO Director-General, 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,” he said.
VP Shettima 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 the Nigerian diaspora as an example, the Nigerian Vice President said Nigerians abroad have 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 Dr 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.
Dr 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, Vice President Shettima will tomorrow, Sunday, present Nigeria’s partnership and foreign investment opportunities 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 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.
Editing By Yusuf Zubairu
