The Danish embassy in Tanzania has decided to continue operating in the country despite an earlier announcement that the embassy in the capital Dar es Salaam would be closed, Tanzania's Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, January Makamba said on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Thursday.
"[...] Earlier today my colleague, Denmark’s Minister of Foreign Affairs informed me that the Danish government is reversing its decision to close its embassy in Tanzania. [...] I welcome this news with gratitude and happiness, aware of what it means for the relations between our two countries," Makamba said on X.
The previous Danish government announced in August 2021 that the Danish Embassy in Tanzania would be closed in 2024, citing adjustment of the government priorities as one of the reasons, as the Danish Embassy stated on its website.
However, now Denmark has decided to remain present within the East African country, explaining that during a "global conflict" and other international problems, maintaining cooperation is particularly important.
"In a time of global conflict, displacements, unemployment, poverty, climate change and food- and energy crisis, we need partnerships more than ever. We need to come together around joint interests; to address common challenges and explore opportunities. Denmark and Tanzania might be 7,000 km apart, but our cooperation is deeply rooted," said Denmark’s Foreign Minister, Løkke Rasmussen on Thursday.
The Nordic country hopes to continue cooperation with Tanzania in the areas of climate and security, among other issues.
"[...] We look forward to building on that to explore new areas of mutual interest such as climate adaptation, green transition, and peace and security," the Minister for Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy, Dan Jørgensen was quoted in the embassy's statement.
Remarkably, Tanzania was the first African country with which Denmark established diplomatic relations in 1963. The Danish Embassy recalled the fruitful cooperation between the two countries for 60 years, citing job creation, ensuring access to quality health services, education, water, etc. as their achievements.
Meanwhile, South Africa considers closing the Israeli embassy in Pretoria and suspending all diplomatic relations with the Middle Eastern country. The issue was discussed on Thursday, where South Africa's Deputy Foreign Minister Candith Mashego-Dlamini warned that it was important to consider how the closure of the Israeli embassy could affect the country's diplomatic presence in Palestine.
After the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on October 7, some of South African parties, including the ruling African National Congress, expressed pro-Palestinian views and called for a ceasefire. However, the shelling of Gaza continues, claiming more lives.