Eduardo González
King Felipe VI said yesterday in Copenhagen that Spain and Denmark “are nowadays leading the European clean energy sector” and that the companies of the two countries “are well aware of their responsibility” in this area and are “among those heading the way in the development of green and innovative energy infrastructures”.
The Monarch pronounced these words during the inauguration of the Spain-Denmark Business Forum, within the framework of the State visit that the King and Queen of Spain are carrying out in Denmark. The forum was organized by the Spanish State Secretariat for Trade, through ICEX Spain Export and Investment and the Economic and Commercial Office of the Spanish Embassy in Copenhagen and in collaboration with the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE) and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce. On the Danish side, this business meeting had the collaboration of the Danish Confederation of Industries (DI) and the Danish Chamber of Commerce.
The meeting was attended by more than 60 Spanish companies and more than 80 Danish companies. In addition, Felipe VI was accompanied by Crown Prince Frederik, as well as the Spanish and Danish Foreign Ministers, José Manuel Albares and Lars Løkke Rasmussen; the Spanish Ambassador to Denmark, María Victoria González Román; the Secretary of State for the EU, Pascual Navarro; and the Secretary of State for Trade, Xiana Méndez, among other personalities.
The forum was focused on the economic transition towards carbon neutrality and its main objective was to bring Spanish companies closer to the investment and business cooperation opportunities that are open in Denmark in the green hydrogen sector and to put them in contact with Danish companies to identify collaboration projects.
In this regard, the King warned during his speech that “one of the main social concerns of our time −that is both urgent and will certainly last−, is climate change”. The two countries “are nowadays leading the European clean energy sector” and “the fluent and excellent relationship between Denmark and Spain allows us to cooperate intense and effectively in this field,” he said.
In addition, he continued, “Spanish and Danish companies are well aware of their responsibility on how to manage this economic transition”. “An array of Danish and Spanish enterprises are among those heading the way in the development of green and innovative energy infrastructures” and, thanks to this, the two countries will be able to push forward, “together,” the goal of “reaching European climate neutrality by 2050,” he added.
Felipe VI also highlighted that “more and more Spanish companies are participating in major public tenders for infrastructure construction projects, often hand in hand with Danish companies”. In this regard, he cited “iconic projects” that “rely on Spanish companies”, such as the Femern Tunnel, which will connect Germany and Denmark through an 18-kilometer underwater tunnel; the Odense tramway or the supply of trains to the Danish state railway operator. All of these, he said, “are examples of fruitful collaboration and mutual trust between two countries that know how to understand each other and bring out the best in each other”.
The forum included a round table discussion on Cooperation Strategies between Denmark and Spain with the participation of the Secretary of State for Trade and President of ICEX, Xiana Méndez (moderator), the CEO of the Danish Confederation of Industries (DI), Lars Sandahl Sørensen; the President of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), Antonio Garamendi; the CEO of the Danish Chamber of Commerce, Brian Mikkelsen; and the President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, José Luis Bonet.
Rest of the day
After the business forum, Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, together with the Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark, went to the Citadel Memorial, where the Monument to Denmark’s international effort is located and where they paid tribute to the fallen soldiers; and they went to the Copenhagen City Hall, where, together with Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, they were received by the Mayoress, Sophie Hæstorp Andersen.
Afterwards, Don Felipe and Doña Letizia, together with Queen Margrethe, went to the University of Copenhagen, where they visited the document custody chamber, which contains an exhibition of Spanish documents; and, after bidding farewell to the Danish sovereign, they went with the Crown Prince and Princess to the building of the Spanish Department of the University, where they toured an exhibition of documents on Spanish-Danish relations and met with academics and researchers of Spanish from the Danish universities of Copenhagen, Aarhus, Aalborg and Copenhagen Business School (CBS).
Afterwards, the King and the Crown Prince moved to the residence of the Spanish Embassy in Denmark, where they had lunch with the presidents of 16 Spanish companies with relevant interests for the economic or commercial relations of both countries. Meanwhile, the Queen, accompanied by Princess Mary, visited the construction site of the Mary Elisabeth Hospital, the first children’s hospital in Denmark, which will open its doors in 2026.
After lunch with Spanish businessmen, the King visited the Danish Parliament, where he met with its President, Søren Gade, and addressed the House, in which he stated that, “both as fellow members of the EU and as NATO allies, Danes and Spaniards alike are unwavering in our determination to overcome the challenges of today’s complex world”. “It is with that same spirit that we contribute towards building the European project and to defending international law,” he added. In the afternoon, the King and Queen inaugurated together with the Queen of Denmark and Princes Frederik and Mary an exhibition on the Valencian painter Joaquín Sorolla on the centenary of his death. The day concluded with a dinner that Don Felipe and Doña Letizia offered to the Queen of Denmark.
