The minister of defence, Nicolai Wammen, was in Paris yesterday to sign a new defence agreement with France that will lead to an even closer working relationship between the two nations.
Wammen said the deal would boost Denmark’s influence in general, and that the Danes could learn much from the relationship – particularly France’s competencies in operations in tropical regions.
“We already have a warm and solid friendship, but we need to improve our ties even more,” Wammen told Jyllands-Posten newspaper. “And we have a clear Danish interest to co-operate with France.”
Denmark and France have been co-operating more recently and the Danes were among the first nations to support French-led military missions in Mali and the Central African Republic.
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French competencies
The Danes are also helping to remove chemical weapons from Syria, and they are also tackling piracy off the Somali coast at the moment.
“Our effort arenas are geographically placed in areas where France has a long history and strong competencies. That underlines the potential for a co-operation with France,” Wammen said.
Other aspects of the agreement include the modification of the two nations’ working tools to be more alike and a better utilisation of their resources, such as having the same types of aircraft or tanks.
Denmark already has a similar defence agreement in place with Great Britain and the US.
