Nigeria's Mining Interests Takes Prominence As VP Shettima Embarks on Two-day Visit to Sweden

By: Olufemi Orunsola 

The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, departs Abuja for Sweden on a 2-day visit to represent Nigeria in bilateral engagements with the Scandinavian nation.

OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports that the Vice President's trip to Sweden is coming at the instance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

OTN further reports that the Vice President will, during the working visit, engage in high-level bilateral talks with key government officials, including a meeting with Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and the Swedish Prime Minister.

Affirming the Vice President's trip and its relevance to the mining sector in the country, The Miners online newspaper confirmed that Senator Shettima will take advantage of the visit to explore opportunities for strengthened collaboration between Nigeria and Sweden in areas such as mining, ICT, innovation, education, digitalisation, sustainable transport, and agriculture.

It further affirms that the Nigerian Vice President will take advantage of the trip to meet with key stakeholders in the Government and Private Sectors.

The Vice President is expected to 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.

OTN News further gathered that no fewer than twelve (Nigerian private sector companies profiled to be doing business with Sweden are also Sweden-bound in their independent capacity 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.

A press statement by the spokesman to the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha has it that the Vice President will return to the country on Saturday many things being equal.