•Shettima (C) and his entourage
Vice President Kashim Shettima arrived in Conakry, the capital of Guinea, yesterday, for the inauguration of President-elect Mamadi Doumbouya holding today.
The vice president is to represent President Bola Tinubu who travelled out of the country on December 28, 2025.
The official ceremony is scheduled to take place today at the GLC Stadium in Nongo, reports Channels TV.
Shettima’s official aircraft landed at Ahmed Sekou Toure International Airport at about 3.10 pm and was received by top government officials led by Guinea’s Minister of Finance, Mourana Soumah, and Nigeria’s Charge d’Affaires in Guinea, Ibrahim Haladu.
The inauguration of President Doumbouya followed his victory in the December 2025 general elections, signalling the formal end of a four-year military transition.
Shettima’s attendance at the inauguration affirms Nigeria’s leadership role within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and its commitment to the restoration of constitutional order across the sub-region.
The visit will also serve as a strategic mission to expand the economic corridor between the two West African nations. It is part of Nigeria’s leadership role within ECOWAS, which includes supporting Guinea’s return to constitutional order, following a four-year transition.
The visit also aims to deepen bilateral trade, which recently saw Nigerian exports to Guinea, particularly manufactured goods and agricultural products, increasing to $3.29 million.
From Guinea, the vice president will proceed to Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, to participate in the 56th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF 2026), scheduled to be held from January 19 to January 23, 2026.
WEF 2026, under the theme “A Spirit of Dialogue,” will bring together leaders from government, business, civil society, and the scientific and cultural communities to foster trusted dialogue, collaborative problem-solving, and future-oriented solutions to shared global challenges.
Key deliberations at the Forum will focus on the current changes brought about by frontier technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, next-generation biotechnology, and advanced energy systems.
The main objective is to determine how these innovations can be responsibly deployed to unlock new engines of growth, expand access across emerging markets, invest in skills for a changing workforce, and promote sustainable and equitable development.
Shettima will also engage global leaders and investors on Nigeria’s economic reform agenda, investment opportunities, and Africa’s role in shaping a resilient and inclusive global future.
The vice president is expected to return to Nigeria at the conclusion of his engagements in Davos.
