Vice President Kashim Shettima has called for global cooperation in tackling existing and emerging challenges, saying, “We must always remember that cooperation is our compass and the most realistic path towards maximising the opportunities and resolving challenges before us”.
The Vice President made the call in his address to world leaders at the ongoing G77+China Leaders’ Summit at the Palace Convention in Havana, Cuba.
Speaking to an assembly of heads of state and government, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, and delegates from over 100 countries from the global south, the Vice President emphasised the need to be focused on leveraging cooperation or partnership for finding realistic solutions to global challenges.
He also pledged Nigeria’s commitment to championing initiatives that harness the potential of science, technology, and innovation, to confront economic challenges, particularly within the global south.
Speaking on the theme, “Current Development Challenges: The Role of Science, Technology, and Innovation,” the Vice President underscored the prominent role that science, technology, engineering and innovation have always played in resolving challenges from the past to the present.
He told his audience that Nigeria is contributing its share in leveraging science, technology, and innovation to resolve challenges such as COVID-19 and the climate crisis.
In his welcome speech at the opening ceremony, the President of Cuba and Chair of G77+China, Miguel Diaz-Canel, lamented the precarious situations faced by developing countries that are member-states.
He noted that science, technology, and innovation have only benefitted developed countries, while the global South is largely still facing very serious development challenges, and called for collective wisdom to address the challenges.
(Editor: Ifeanyi Mark)
