By Hassan Isilow
Denmark will close its embassies in Burkina Faso and Mali, and open new missions in Senegal, Tunisia, and Rwanda as part of a new Africa strategy, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
“As a result of military coups that have severely limited the scope for action in the Sahel region, the embassies in Burkina Faso and Mali will be closed,” a ministry statement said.
Relations between the two Sahel nations and several Western countries have deteriorated since the military coups in Burkina Faso in 2022 and Mali in 2020.
Denmark said Tunisia is an important partner for it in North Africa in respect to many agendas, and holds the potential for expanded partnership in areas such as climate and the green transition, while Senegal is a leading country in West Africa and has a long democratic tradition in a geographical context shaped by military coups.
As part of its new strategy, the four existing embassies in South Africa, Kenya, Egypt and Nigeria will be upgraded to regional hubs, with greater coverage of developments in their respective regions.
"Raising the status of an embassy to a regional hub entails strengthened cooperation with the countries for which the embassy is side-accredited. The new regional hubs are situated in countries that are leading nations in their respective geographic regions,” the ministry said.
In addition to regional hubs, measures will also be taken to strengthen the embassy in Ghana, it said.
Copenhagen also said: “Africa’s geopolitical relevance and importance in international politics has never been greater; their populations, economies, and assertiveness are growing.”
“In 2050, one in every four people in the world will live in Africa. One in every three of the world’s youth will be African. Given these developments, the European Union must further its efforts to be the preferred partner of the African countries and ensure that it is able to deliver what is needed,’’ it added.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said: “One of this century’s most important foreign policy questions is whether Africa will orient itself more towards the East or the West.”
Rasmussen further said they have a clear interest in the African countries looking toward Europe as they chart the course for their future.
“We must demonstrate that we offer an attractive alternative to the increasing Chinese and Russian influence on the continent. We will do this through increased investment in Africa and increased trade with African businesses, by cultivating mutual understanding, and by working to ensure that more Africans can come to study in Denmark,” he said.