The vice president, Kashim Shettima, departed Abuja on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, on a two-day visit to Sweden.
Mr Shettima is expected to represent Nigeria in a bilateral engagement at the instance of the president who is also away on a two-week vacation.
The president’s vacation is expected to come to an end today.
A statement by the vice president’s media aide, Stanley Nkwocha said Shettima would be due to return to Nigeria on Saturday, October 19, 2024.
According to Nkwocha, the vice president while in Sweden would engage in high-level bilateral talks with key government officials in the country.
He would also hold a meeting with Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and the Swedish Prime Minister.
In addition, Mr Shettima is expected to explore opportunities for strengthened collaboration between Nigeria and Sweden in areas such as ICT, innovation, education, digitalisation, sustainable transport, mining, and agriculture.
Nkwocha added, “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,” he added.
The statement also said that 12 Nigerian private sector companies 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,” Nkwocha noted.
