The government of Denmark has reiterated its commitment to strengthening maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea through targeted initiatives, including training programmes, technical assistance and advisory support for regional maritime forces.

This assurance was given by Marie van der Heijden, who led a delegation from the Danish Ministry of Defence to the Western Naval Command Headquarters in Lagos.

The delegation was received by the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Abubakar Abdullahi Mustapha, alongside senior officers of the Command.

The visit provided an avenue for strategic discussions aimed at deepening cooperation in capacity building, operational support and intelligence sharing to combat maritime threats such as piracy, crude oil theft, illegal fishing and other transnational crimes in the region.

Speaking during the engagement, Mustapha, on behalf of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, reaffirmed the Nigerian Navy’s commitment to sustaining partnerships with international stakeholders.

He stressed the importance of leveraging modern technology and maintaining a coordinated maritime presence across the Gulf of Guinea to effectively deter emerging threats.

According to him, improved maritime domain awareness—driven by advanced surveillance systems and collaborative operations—remains crucial to securing vital sea lines of communication.

The engagement also featured an interactive session where both parties reviewed ongoing efforts to secure Nigeria’s maritime environment and explored additional areas of cooperation, including joint exercises, personnel exchanges and logistics support to enhance interoperability and collective response capabilities.

The visit concluded with an exchange of souvenirs and a guided tour of naval vessels and facilities within the Command, underscoring the shared commitment of Nigeria and Denmark to a safer and more secure maritime domain.