Vice President Kashim Shettima met with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres at UN headquarters in the United States to discuss Nigeria’s bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and other areas of collaboration. The meeting also focused on achieving Sustainable Development Goals, addressing climate change, strengthening democracy in Nigeria and Africa, and expanding partnership with the UNDP on regional initiatives.

Speaking after the meeting, Vice President Shettima emphasized the need for the UN to support Nigeria’s aspirations and highlighted the country’s commitment to digital inclusion, youth empowerment, and women’s participation as central to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s agenda.

Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy Dr Bosun Tijani noted that the Secretary-General was impressed with Nigeria’s recent release of its first multilingual and multimodal large language model, urging Nigeria to assist other African countries in leveraging artificial intelligence for development.

Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction Dr Yusuf Tanko Sununu highlighted Nigeria’s humanitarian achievements, including reaching over 8.1 million Nigerians through conditional cash transfers and maintaining a social register of nearly 18.9 million households. He added that the UN Secretary-General assured continued support to strengthen Nigeria’s humanitarian and poverty reduction efforts.

Vice President Shettima also met with UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, where both leaders pledged to deepen cooperation in trade, economy, defence, and migration. Additionally, Shettima participated in the Global Leadership Council Meeting at UNICEF Headquarters, reaffirming Nigeria’s commitment to engaging youth, empowering women, and driving inclusive development through digital innovation.