The embassies of the Kingdom of Denmark and Sweden in Burkina Faso jointly celebrated their national holidays on Monday, June 5, 2023 in Ouagadougou. On the occasion, the two States reiterated their commitments alongside Burkina Faso.
June 6 and 5 are important dates in the history of Sweden and Denmark. They respectively mark the adoption of the Constitution of these two European countries. And, as usual, their diplomatic representations in Burkina Faso jointly commemorated these events during a ceremony held on the evening of Monday, June 5, 2023, in Ouagadougou. According to the Swedish ambassador to Burkina Faso, Maria Sargen, this celebration takes place in a troubled global context.
She cited, among other things, the war between Russia and Ukraine with its repercussions on other countries, including Burkina Faso. In terms of bilateral cooperation between her country and that of Upright Men, the diplomat said that her country supports development efforts. These, underlined Maria Sargen, are the fight against poverty, inequality in order to strengthen resilience and affirm the role of women and young people, health, sexual and reproductive rights, environment, democracy, etc.
“We have extended until the end of this year our bilateral strategy with Burkina Faso, which initially covered the period 2018-2022. This means that we continue to support important initiatives,” she said. The total amount of Sweden’s commitment to development in Burkina, added the Swedish ambassador, amounts to more than 100 billion FCFA. As for the humanitarian contribution, since 2022, it is estimated at more than 5.4 billion FCFA.
Danish Ambassador Kristian Kirkegaard Edinger said his country’s 174-year-old constitution was adopted with the aim of breaking with absolutism and establishing democracy. “It guarantees fundamental individual rights such as freedom of expression, politics and religion,” he explained. In its external relations with the rest of the world, said Kristian Kirkegaard Edinger, Denmark has implemented a strategy for international cooperation called “The world we share”.
“With this strategy, Denmark intends to prevent and fight against poverty, inequality, conflicts and population displacements”, he justified. It is within this framework that in June 2021, Denmark signed with the government of Burkina Faso a development program for the period 2021-2025. He noted that the cost of this program, which is still in operation, amounts to approximately 92 billion FCFA, “The overall vision underlying the Danish commitment is to reduce poverty and inequalities in favor of better resilience and sustainable economic growth,” said the Danish diplomat.
 100vw, 300px” src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.sidwaya.info/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/sude.gif?resize=300%2C208&is-pending-load=1#038;ssl=1″/><noscript><img data-lazy-fallback=)
“We are present at this joint commemoration to show our solidarity with these two countries with which we have been traveling for several years,” said Karamoko Jean Marie Traoré.
Soumaïla BONKOUNGOU
& Zenabou WEST (Intern)
