Norway has announced the closure of Embassies in Kampala, Uganda, and the Consulate General in Guangzhou, China.
In a statement Friday, Norway said the number of diplomatic staff at selected other embassies will also be increased.
The missions will be closed in 2024 and the staff from these two missions will be redirected to increase staffing at other Norwegian diplomatic and consular missions.
“In a rapidly changing world, it is essential for us to have diplomats in 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,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitfeldt.
“The closure of the Embassy in Kampala does not mean that Norwegian aid to the country will be discontinued, or that there will be less focus on the rights of women and minorities. The decision has been taken based on an assessment of the Foreign Service’s overall resources.”
According to the Norwegian Foreign Affairs ministry, the reallocation is part of a larger process to best safeguard Norwegian foreign and development policy priorities.
“Norway will have fewer, but more robust foreign service missions,” added Huitfeldt.
More diplomatic staff will be posted to 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.
Further, the Embassy in Beirut will be given a new diplomatic position dedicated to working with aid to Syria.
“The decision to close a foreign service mission obviously has an impact on our employees. We will take steps to ensure that the needs and rights of all staff members affected by the closures are adequately safeguarded. But we have a responsibility to use our resources as effectively as possible. There is now a need to increase staffing at multiple missions, and unfortunately that means that we have to close down missions in other places,” said Huitfeldt.
The Ministry explained that it is working on solutions to safeguard Norway’s diplomatic representation in Burundi and Rwanda, which were being represented in Kampala.
Starting in 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.
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