Africa-Nordic summit: Reaffirming global partnerships in uncertain times

Nordic countries — Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden — are longstanding partners in Africa’s development, having invested billions of dollars in various countries of the continent for more than 50 years. With technology developing at a rapid pace and the focus of the future being mutual benefit, Africa-Nordic relations are seeing a change. Instead of continuing the traditional aid-based models for financing development in Africa, the two sides are focusing on strategic economic partnerships instead.

This significant shift in Africa-Nordic relations was clearly reflected at the 22nd Africa-Nordic Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, held from 2-3 October 2025 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The summit brought together foreign ministers and representatives from African and Nordic countries under the theme, “Leveraging Technology and Collaboration for Future-Ready Societies.”

The summit focused on critical global and regional issues including trade and investment, multilateralism, peace and security, and sustainable development.

As Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide emphasised, the future of Africa-Nordic relations lies in multi-sectoral collaborations. “Technology, industrial development, clean energy, innovation hubs and mineral value addition are key areas for cooperation. These collaborations can promote sustainable development, enhance trade, create employment, and deliver mutual benefit,” he said.

What does this mean for media in Africa?

The summit’s outcomes are not just diplomatic milestones; they signal a new era of cooperation that demands active media engagement. The evolving Africa-Nordic relationship is not just about governments and investors: it’s about people, communities and shared futures. Media must be at the table—not just as observers, but as active participants shaping narratives, ensuring accountability and fostering inclusive development.

In Zimbabwe, Somalia, Tanzania and Ethiopia, IMS has benefitted from Swedish, Denmark and Norwegian funding. These funds have enabled our media partners in these countries to position themselves as key actors in covering climate and the environment, to promote initiatives that seek to outperform disinformation and to build media capacity on tech adaptation, AI innovation and sustainability.

Media in African countries have several important roles to play in the evolution of the Africa-Nordic relationship:

• Media as a bridge for economic diplomacy

As Africa-Nordic relations evolve into business-driven partnerships, media must play a central role in promoting transparency in trade and investment deals. The media also has a role in amplifying voices of marginalised communities, especially those who are impacted by developments in sectors such as mining and agriculture. Media’s role includes tracking the impact of foreign investments on local development and governance.

• Countering disinformation and promoting digital resilience

African countries and Nordic countries face growing threats from disinformation and cyber insecurity often fuelled by geopolitical tensions. Media outlets and civil society organisations have a role in building cross-border alliances to counter disinformation and in promoting digital literacy and fact-based journalism.

African countries have three larger concerns that play a key role in their effort to combat disinformation: tech governance, which is about the structures that govern the internet globally; tech sovereignty, which relates to the dominance of Western countries in the power matrix over the internet; and tech regulation, which relates to the dominance of Big Tech and its failure to account for Africa’s needs, especially related to combating disinformation. Nordic countries have similar concerns and a cooperation between the two sides has potential to ensure that those in power approach future technological progress from a human rights and development perspective. When that happens, societies will become resilient enough to anticipate, adapt to and recover from digital disruptions and cyber threats.

• Climate, technology and the media’s watchdog role

The summit identified six priority areas for cooperation, namely, job creation, migration and diaspora engagement, green mining, clean energy, infrastructure development and climate-smart agriculture. Each of these areas presents opportunities for media storytelling, accountability journalism and public engagement.

With Africa bearing the brunt of climate change and Nordic countries leading in green innovation, the media can highlight climate-smart investments resulting from the Africa-Nordic partnership and their local impact. This also includes monitoring environmental and social safeguards in green mining and clean energy projects and raising awareness about climate justice and community resilience.

IMS in Africa

IMS has been working in Africa for more than 20 years. As part of its work in the continent, IMS has been encouraging businesses, civil society organisations, media outlets and governments to engage on common issues such as climate change, and the use of tech in a responsible, rights-based and innovative manner. IMS supports transforming newsrooms into tech-savvy, sustainable and versatile media entities in Africa that can focus on public interest journalism. IMS sees value in supporting dialogues that position independent media as a key stakeholder in Africa-Nordic cooperation.