Denmark has unveiled a new strategy for cooperation with the African continent, with plans to open new embassies in Senegal, Tunisia and Rwanda, while strengthening the diplomatic capacity of existing embassies in Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana, turning them into “regional hubs” (except Ghana). It will also close its embassies in Mali and Burkina Faso for security reasons. In total, by 2026, there will be 10 more Danish diplomats on the African continent than there are now.
In addition, possibilities are being explored to expand the Danish presence in countries where it is not present. In particular, the possibility of Danish diplomats being present for shorter or longer periods, for example in EU delegations, is being explored. The strategy argues that Africa’s geopolitical importance and relevance in international politics has never been greater. The population as well as the economy is growing and it is expected that by 2050, one in four people in the world will live in Africa, with one in three young people in the world being African.
“One of the most important foreign policy questions of this century will be whether African countries will become more East- or West-oriented. We have a clear interest in African countries looking to Europe for a future direction. We must show that we can offer an attractive alternative to the growing influence of China and Russia on the continent. We need to do this by investing more in Africa and doing more business with African companies,” said Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
The strategy will focuses to promote trade and investment in Africa through strengthened initiatives of the Investment Fund for Developing Countries and the Danish Export Investment Fund. In addition, Denmark will allocate more than DKK 1 billion (€134 million) for the development of Africa’s water sector and DKK 1.1 billion (€147 million) between 2024 and 2029 to combat irregular migration. There are also plans to reduce the ministry’s hourly rate for advising Danish companies in Africa.
Denmark is a country comparable in size and population to Slovakia, but in terms of GDP it exceeds Slovakia by a factor of 3.5.
The total number of Danish embassies in Africa will eventually be eight. Following the government’s announcement on 28 August 2024, Slovakia will open additional embassies in Algeria, Tanzania, and a liaison office in Ethiopia. In total, Slovakia will be represented in seven African countries.
In the period 1993-2022, Slovak government officials visited the African continent 171 times. Of these, 90 % have been at the level of Minister and State Secretary. In total, 47% of the visits were from the diplomatic department and 12% from the economic department. At the level of Prime Minister, Slovakia had its only bilateral visit to the continent in 2007 in Libya.
Sub-Saharan Africa in particular accounted for only a minimal share of the total number of government visits to the world (0.53%). Within Sub-Saharan Africa, over 55% of all visits were made to South Africa (32.14%) and Kenya (23.81%) alone. These figures are also in line with the position of the Africa region in the MFA’s strategic documents. In particular, sub-Saharan Africa has long been ranked last or penultimate, together with Latin America. Moreover, in sub-Saharan Africa, the number of honorary consulates has been reduced from 16 to 14 by 2021, with only 7 of the original consulates remaining.
Denmark’s exports to Africa in 2022 accounted for only 1.58% of total exports. The largest importers are South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Liberia and Nigeria. With Denmark exporting mainly pharmaceutical products. In contrast, Denmark mainly imports oil and natural gas from Libya and Algeria.
Slovakia’s exports to Africa accounted for 0.9% of total exports in 2022. The largest importers are Morocco, South Africa, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria, while Slovakia mainly exports cars.
It is therefore really advisable for Slovakia to supplement the capacity of existing embassies, to expand the network of honorary consulates and to strategically identify important countries for the direct involvement of our foreign service, not only in economic diplomacy, but also in development aid and consular services. As a further instrument, it would be useful to apply our voice in the EU to support the Union’s efforts to promote free trade agreements, particularly with countries in Africa.
Author: Filip Šandor, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, EXPORT ANALYTICA
