Denmark to open embassy in Abuja, Nigeria

The Danish Foreign Minister, Mr Holger Nielsen, said on Tuesday in Addis Ababa that arrangements had been concluded to open a Danish embassy in Abuja by August this year.

Nielsen made this known during a meeting with Nigeria's Acting Foreign Minister, Prof Viola Onwuliri, on the sidelines of the ongoing 22nd summit of the African Union.
He appealed to the Nigerian government to reciprocate the gesture by having a diplomatic presence in Denmark.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigeria's foreign mission in Stockholm has concurrent accreditation to the three Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
Nielsen, however, said a diplomatic mission in Nigeria would boost trade and diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The minister, who hinted that he would visit Nigeria in June, hailed Nigeria's election into the non-permanent seat of the UN Security Council for the 2014/2015 period,
He also commended Nigeria’s contributions to regional peace and security through peacekeeping operations.

Nielsen particularly cited its role in resolving the conflict in Cote d'Ivoire and Mali.
Responding, Onwuliri urged Denmark to support Nigeria's two-year presidency of Community of Democracy, which would begin in February 2015.
She noted Nigeria’s current presidency of the Global Power Women Network Africa and stressed the need for Denmark's support to the group's objective.
The network brings together women ministers, parliamentarians and judges, to address issues of HIV and AIDS, and more generally, women’s empowerment.