President Jóhannesson, Ministers, ladies and gentlemen

Good morning.

Today marks the opening of the official Danish business visit to Iceland.

At a time where virtual meetings have become an integral part of our everyday life - it is highly appreciated to meet “face-to-face” again. And It is always a pleasure to experience Iceland’s majestic nature and engage with its’ warm and welcoming people.

Our countries share a special bond. Formed by our common history and our common culture.

We share the same core values.

Trust in our societies is high and we collaborate and support one another. Even when the going gets tough. We have seen that time and time again.

And both our countries recognize the need for an effective and progressive response to climate changes.

We want to pass on a sustainable world to our next generations.

With today’s business visit, we continue to build on our countries special relationship by strengthening our commercial cooperation on the development of tomorrow’s green technologies.

Some of the most innovative and ambitious Danish, Greenlandic and Icelandic businesses are present today. Together, they represent the level of innovative expertise we need, in order to create more sustainable societies.

It is through thorough innovation and the development of new cutting-edge technologies that we can conquer the climate crisis. 

As Vikings, our ancestors invented new technologies for sailing and navigation that the world had never seen before.

While the Vikings hardly knew about modern concepts such as "sustainability" and "bio-diversity", we can still be inspired by our innovative ancestors.

As the Vikings used the wind to power their ships, we use wind to power whole societies through electricity and very soon Power to X.

Like our common Viking ancestors, we see these new technologies as opportunities. And like the Vikings we still need to navigate in unchartered waters.

This time to build a better and more sustainable tomorrow together.  

With these words, I would like to wish everyone a successful visit.

I look forward to participating in today's program and to see new partnerships take shape between Danish, Greenlandic and Icelandic businesses.

Partnerships and cooperation between friends on common solutions has never been more important.

Together, we can add another exiting chapter to the long history of cooperation between our countries.

Thank you.