ALGIERS – Tuesday, 17 October 2023 (APS) – Denmark’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, spokesman of the Nordic countries, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, called Tuesday, in Algiers, for cooperation between the African and Nordic countries to achieve sustainable development and find ways enabling the establishment of security and stability in a changing world plagued by crises and conflicts.
Welcoming the organization of the 20th Nordic-African Foreign Ministers Meeting, hosted by Algeria, Lars Lokke Rasmussen said that “in this changing world, Africa is a force and its importance and which possesses a great diversity, hence our presence here to explore the opportunities likely to strengthen our bilateral relations.”
He called for “frank” exchanges, during this meeting, concerning the current changes occurring globally, dubbing necessary to determine the role incumbent on every country to take up current challenges, notably amidst threats to security and peace.
Among these global challenges, Lars Lokke Rasmussen mentioned notably the crisis in Ukraine and its effect on the global food security, the situation in the Middle East and the anti-constitutional changes in Africa.
“It is essential that we address these challenges in synergy in order to achieve sustainable development,” he underlined, emphasizing that “the Nordic countries have committed to helping the African Union to achieve security and peace in Africa.”
In this respect, he underlined the Nordic countries’ willingness to cooperate with the African countries in the commercial field and the development of the private sector, by making all the necessary tools and means available to them, calling to find cooperation mechanisms that enable both the African and Nordic countries to move forward in this regard.