Vice-President Kashim Shettima, on Wednesday, said Nigeria was ready to spearhead the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Shettima said this at a forum of Friends of AfCFTA on the sidelines of the ongoing 2025 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
While addressing the forum tagged, “Forum Friends of AfCFTA: Turning Digital Trade into a Catalyst for Growth in Africa,” Shettima said Nigeria was committed to AfCFTA as a vehicle for shared prosperity.
He said Africa was in a unique position to take advantage of global talent deficits.
The Vice-President cited a Korn Ferry study that projected a global human talent shortage of more than 85 million people by 2030.
“By 2050, Nigeria’s population will surpass that of the United States, becoming the third most populous nation on earth at 440 million people,” he stated.
Shettima said Nigeria’s technological strength was propelling it into the knowledge age.
“Today, we have 220 million telecom subscribers and 163 million internet users in Nigeria alone.
“This provides us with immense opportunities to empower our people. While our highest oil export earnings were 35 billion dollars in 2011, India last year earned about 120 billion dollars from outsourcing alone.
“The African Continental Free Trade Area is not only an economic arrangement but a bold statement of our shared destiny,” he said.
Aligning with Shettima, Mr Borge Brende, the WEF President, said Africa’s demographic advantage presented huge economic opportunities for the continent.
He noted that while most nations faced workforce challenges, Africa’s young population positioned it for unprecedented growth.
“If the Secretary General of the AfCFTA is given all the support he deserves, we can boost intra-African trade by a staggering 50 per cent.
“As of today, 29 trillion dollars represents one-third of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Africa is such a growing continent, and one of its key promises is demography.
“The challenge now is creating new jobs for the youth population,” he stated. (NAN)
