Nigeria’s government and its Danish counterpart have expressed readiness to collaborate to fight piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
The renewed effort by both governments took place during a bilateral meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, and the Foreign Minister of Denmark, Jeppe Kofod, on the sidelines of the ongoing 76th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, United States.
In his remarks, Kofod said Denmark was strengthening its cooperation with all of the countries around the Gulf of Guinea and deploying resources to the Gulf of Guinea to fight piracy.
Kofod also said Denmark wanted to cooperate with all the countries around the Gulf of Guinea to fight the root cause of piracy, adding that as a maritime country, Denmark is occupied with safe travel for its seafarers and its ships.
He said, “As a maritime nation like Nigeria, we are very occupied with safe travel at sea for our seafarers, for our ships. So, that is why we are investing heavily in this.”
On his part, Onyeama said the relations between the Denmark and Nigeria were excellent.
Onyeama also said apart from the Gulf of Guinea, Demark has been very supportive in the area of humanitarian assistance in the North-East regarding the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
He said that Nigeria is trying to diversify and attract more investment, disclosing that Nigeria is working with Denmark to expand in terms of not just goods and things that are brought into the country, but also for Nigeria’s export promotion.
“We are working on that and helping also with regards to the herders, to be more sedentary in ranching and producing milk with the cattle and other business module,” Onyeama said.
He described the bilateral relations between Nigeria and Denmark as a win-win situation, even as he said Nigeria was looking for more investment into the country.