Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima is set to depart Abuja for a two-day visit to Sweden, representing Nigeria in bilateral engagements with the Scandinavian country.
According to a statement released on Wednesday by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Communications (Office of the Vice President), the visit is on the directive of President Bola Tinubu.
During the visit, the Vice President will hold high-level discussions with key Swedish government officials, including meetings with Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and the Swedish Prime Minister.
The trip aims to strengthen Nigeria-Sweden collaboration in various sectors such as ICT, innovation, education, digitalization, sustainable transport, mining, and agriculture.
Senator Shettima will also engage with key stakeholders from both the government and private sectors. A notable meeting will be held with Norrsken, a Stockholm-based venture capital impact investor.
Norrsken recently launched Norrsken22, a $205 million tech investment fund for Africa, which aims to support the growth of African tech entrepreneurs.
This meeting will explore how Nigerian entrepreneurs can leverage the fund to strengthen Nigeria’s tech ecosystem, with 40% of the fund’s investments expected to be allocated to Nigerian tech entrepreneurs.
Additionally, 12 Nigerian private sector companies engaged in business with Sweden will accompany the Vice President 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 myriad of opportunities that abound in Africa’s largest economy will also be showcased.
The Vice President is expected back in the country on Saturday.