Man Jose Kayima
The Norwegian Embassy in Kampala and the Consulate General in Guangzhou, China, are to be closed, the European country’s Foreign Affairs ministry has said.
According to Norway, the two missions are set to be closed in 2024 “to enable the ministry (Foreign Services) to address the dire need to increase staffing at other Norwegian diplomatic and consular missions.”
“In a rapidly changing world, it is essential for us to have diplomats in the places where they can monitor global issues that have implications for Norway and promote Norwegian positions. At the same time, we must continually assess where it is best to maintain a presence in order to safeguard Norwegian interests optimally with the resources we have,” Norwegian Foreign Affairs minister Anniken Huitfeldt noted in a Thursday statement.
But Norway’s Minister for International Development Anne Beathe Tvinnereim observed that the closure of the embassy in Uganda does not mean that aid to the country will be discontinued.
“Norway will continue to invest significantly in development cooperation with Uganda through its civil society partners and multilateral organisations. We will also maintain our engagement in promoting human rights in the country,” Tvinnereim emphasized.
The Norwegian Embassy in Kampala currently serves three East African countries including Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda.
The Norwegian government highlights that its Ministry of Foreign Affairs is now working on solutions to safeguard Norway’s diplomatic representation in these countries once the Embassy in Kampala is closed.
Starting 2024, the Norwegian Embassy in Beijing and the General Consulate in Shanghai will be responsible for tasks currently carried out by the Consulate General in Guangzhou.
“More diplomatic staff will be posted to the Norwegian Embassies in Accra, Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam, Kinshasa and Nairobi in order to strengthen efforts in priority areas such as food security, business development and regional security in Africa. The Embassy in Beirut will also be given a new diplomatic position dedicated to working with aid to Syria,” Norway’s Foreign Service informed on October 12.
It added: “We will take steps to ensure that the needs and rights of all staff members affected by the closures are adequately safeguarded.”
Norway is one of countries that provides substantial aid to Uganda and in 2022, Uganda received about Shs132.3b earmarked for projects in the key priority areas such as civil society, education, energy, refugees and women’s rights.
