Denmark recognises Africa’s growing importance with the new national Africa Strategy that will strengthen Danish-African relations through Danish investments and increased trade with solutions within energy, water and climate adaptation.

At the “Unstoppable Africa”-conference during New York Climate Week 25-26 September, business leaders from across the African continent came together to engage in conversations around energy access, and energy transition in the firm belief that Africa with its young population and natural resources, and the right investments can help us tackle these challenges. The conference was guested by high-level speakers such as António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson, African Union Commission, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization.

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of WTO stressed her ambition for collaboration with other continents for the next five years very precisely: ‘Stop sending aid to Africa. Instead, invest in Africa.’

One company with considerable investments in Africa – in African ports – is APM Terminals, and Chief Executive of Europa and Africa, Igor van den Essen, APM Terminals, stressed:

“APM Terminals believe that port infrastructure plays a central role in not only facilitating trade but also in fostering inclusive economic growth across Africa. We are committed to our people to not only create jobs but build careers and enable the betterment of the community and entrepreneurship that can power sustainable economic growth. A good example being the West African Container Terminal in Onne, Nigeria. This year, we installed solar panels, which will cover approximately 30 per cent of the energy consumption in the terminal and the solution shows potential to be expanded to other of our facilities in the region. This is one of the tools that will support our industry-leading ambition as a global company to reach net-zero by 2040.”

With the new strategy, Africa’s Century, Denmark aims for greater attention to the wishes and priorities of the African countries. Equal partnerships with African countries are a central focus of the new strategy. You can find the entire strategy here. 

Also read: Denmark ramps up its green engagements with African countries