VP Shettima arrives Angola for AU–EU summit

Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived at the Protocol Hall, the venue of the 7th African Union–European Union Summit taking place in Luanda, the capital of Angola.

He got to the venue around 2:00 p.m. local time on Monday.

Shettima is standing in for President Bola Tinubu, who cancelled his planned trips to South Africa and Angola so he could focus on urgent security issues at home after the recent abduction of more than 300 people, mostly schoolchildren, within the last week.

The Vice President departed Johannesburg for Luanda late Sunday after standing in for Tinubu at this year’s G20 summit.

Dressed in a white traditional attire, Shettima was accompanied into the venue by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar.

Officials familiar with the VP’s programme told our correspondent that his address at the two-day event will emphasise Africa–EU cooperation on security and trade, particularly in the wake of mounting threats to regional stability.

He is also scheduled to join two thematic sessions on Peace, Security, and Migration.

The summit, themed “Promoting Peace and Prosperity through Effective Multilateralism”, is co-chaired by the President of Angola and chairperson of the African Union, João Lourenço, alongside the President of the European Council, António Costa.

The two-day gathering marks 25 years of formal AU-EU cooperation.

It comes when trade between Africa and the EU reached nearly $410bn in 2024, $217bn in EU imports from Africa and about $191bn in exports to the continent.

According to the official programme obtained by our correspondent, participants will hear statements from the AU Commission Chairperson, the Presidents of the European Commission and European Council, the UN Secretary-General and host President Lourenço of Angola.

After the adoption of the programme of work, the first closed-door session on Peace, Security and Governance, as well as Multilateralism, will run until 7:00pm.

A closed-door plenary on Prosperity, Migration and Mobility follows on Tuesday morning, leading into the closing session and the joint AU–EU press conference.

Although the programme does not explicitly list Shettima as a speaker, officials say he is expected to deliver Nigeria’s statement during the four-hour closed-door session scheduled between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

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