Africa–Nordic relations are the current and historical relationships between the African countries and the Nordic countries – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.
Trade
editIn 2015, trade relations between Denmark and Africa totalled $1.9 billion; Norway-Africa trade amounted to $3 billion; while Finland’s Africa trade was $1.9 billion. Sweden had the largest trade with the continent, reaching $4.9 billion.[1] For Sweden, South Africa is the most important export market in Africa.[2]
Ever since the Aid for Trade Initiative was launched in 2006, Nordic development partners have supported the efforts of African countries to increase their exports, and they should continue to do so at both the national and the regional level, together with the AU and its partners.[3]
Peace and security cooperation
editOver the period 2012 to 2021, the Nordic countries have strengthened their relationship with African states and societies by supporting the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) and promoting African involvement in conflict prevention, mediation, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding efforts. All the Nordic countries work across the conflict spectrum and use a wide array of tools for partnering with African actors, including knowledge generation, training, capacity building, deployment of personnel and technical experts. Between 2012 and 2021, Nordic countries pledged USD 4.96 billion in development cooperation funding to Africa's peace and security.[4]
Denmark has invested heavily in democracy and regional stabilisation, with Kenya and Mali as priority countries, and it established its own Peace and Stabilisation Fund[5] to facilitate a flexible, whole-of-government approach at the intersection between security and development.
Finland has actively worked with the AU, EU, UN, and its African and Nordic partners to support mediation and reinforce inclusivity and sustainability. Finland's Africa Strategy[6] emphasises equal partnership over aid dependency, and its AU Mediation Support project[7] is considered a flagship effort.
Iceland strongly focuses on combating climate change and strengthening climate resilience in its bilateral cooperation. It also places top priority to gender equality and the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda, set by the UN Security Council Resolution 1325. It has developed a unique model, the Barbershop Toolbox, for mobilising men in the struggle for gender equality.[8]
With over 30 years of peace diplomacy experience, Norway is enhancing the African-Nordic partnership’s capacity to prevent, manage, and resolve conflicts in Africa and has supported the Training for Peace (TfP) programme for over twenty years.[9]
Sweden has shifted its international development cooperation to Africa’s fragile regions while focusing on APSA, capacity building, and the WPS agenda. This has boosted civilian peacebuilding, mediation, conflict prevention, human rights, and democracy.[10]
Nordic support to the African liberation movements
editNordic support to the African liberation movements started in 1969, when the Swedish parliament, based on resolutions by the UN General Assembly, declared it compatible with international law. Elsewhere in the Western world, this was far from a foregone conclusion.[11] While the Danish government chose to assist the liberation movements via established NGOs, in 1973 Finland and Norway followed Sweden and extended direct support.[12]
Most of the Nordic support was for liberation movements in Southern Africa, to countries like Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, but parts of it also reached the liberation movements in Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau.[13] Between 1969 and 1994, the Nordic governments granted, in constant 1998 figures, a total of some 1.5 billion US Dollars as official humanitarian assistance to Southern Africa. Of this amount, 600 million, around 40%, went as direct support to the liberation movements. In several cases, the Nordic contributions represented over half of their non-military expenditure.[14]
References
edit- ^ Daniel, Rosaline; Nagar, Dawn (2016). Africa's Key Bilateral Relations: The Nordics, Europe, and the Islamic World (Report). Centre for Conflict Resolution. pp. 19–21.
- ^ "Trade between Sweden and South Africa". Sweden Abroad. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ Levin, Jörgen; Abu Hatab, Assem; Karingi, Stephen (2023). Unlocking Africa's trade potential : promises and pitfalls of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement. Nordiska Afrikainstitutet.
- ^ De Coning, Cedric; Muvumba Sellström, Angela (2023). A shared commitment : African-Nordic peace and security cooperation : a report from the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and the Nordic Africa Institute (NAI). Norsk Utenrikspolitisk Institutt ; Nordiska Afrikainstitutet.
- ^ "Strategic framework and Guidelines for the peace and stabilisation fund". AMG-EN. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ "Finland's Africa strategy". Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ "African Union Mediation Support Project". Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ "Barbershop". www.government.is. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ "Training for Peace". Training for Peace. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ De Coning, Cedric; Muvumba Sellström, Angela (2023). A shared commitment : African-Nordic peace and security cooperation : a report from the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and the Nordic Africa Institute (NAI). Norsk Utenrikspolitisk Institutt ; Nordiska Afrikainstitutet.
- ^ Afrikainstitutet, Nordiska (1999). Report of the conference Nordic Solidarity with the Liberation Struggles in Southern Africa, and Challenges for Democratic Partnerships into the 21st Century, 11-14 February, 1999.
- ^ Afrikainstitutet, Nordiska (1999). Report of the conference Nordic Solidarity with the Liberation Struggles in Southern Africa, and Challenges for Democratic Partnerships into the 21st Century, 11-14 February, 1999.
- ^ "Liberation Africa - The Nordic Africa Institute". nai.uu.se. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ Afrikainstitutet, Nordiska (1999). Report of the conference Nordic Solidarity with the Liberation Struggles in Southern Africa, and Challenges for Democratic Partnerships into the 21st Century, 11-14 February, 1999.
This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC-BY 4.0. Text taken from A SHARED COMMITMENT: AFRICAN-NORDIC PEACE AND SECURITY COOPERATION, De Coning, Cedric; Muvumba Sellström, Angela, Norsk Utenrikspolitisk Institutt ; Nordiska Afrikainstitutet.