Vice President Kashim Shettima says Nigeria is undergoing a “quiet but resolute transformation” under President Bola Tinubu, as Abuja and Brasília step up economic cooperation across key sectors.
Speaking at the Nigeria–Brazil Business Forum in Abuja on Wednesday, Shettima highlighted shared ambitions between both nations in agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and industrial growth.
“Nigeria is opening markets, rebuilding institutions, and refocusing policies. We seek partners, not donors and Brazil fits that vision,” Shettima declared.
The forum, tagged “Roots to Revenue: The Nigeria–Brazil Corridor”, marked day three of the Nigeria–Brazil Strategic Dialogue Mechanism (SDM), where both countries committed to expanding collaboration in clean energy, agro-industrial development, trade, and human capital.
Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin reaffirmed his country’s readiness to scale bilateral relations. “This is a historic moment. Let’s move from promise to sustainable partnerships,” he said, citing the $1.1 billion Green Imperative Initiative to transfer Brazilian agricultural tech to Nigeria.
Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, urged a reset in trade relations, lamenting the drop in trade volume from $9 billion to $2 billion in the last decade.
“The Nigeria–Brazil corridor is not nostalgia. It’s real and urgent,” she said, highlighting Nigeria’s investment targets: agro-processing, digital trade, creative economy, and pharmaceuticals.
Other officials, including PEBEC Director General Zarah Mustapha and NIPC’s Victoria Aigbedion, emphasized ongoing reforms to attract long-term investment, as Brazilian business leaders expressed optimism about Nigeria’s market potential.
