PRESIDENT MARY McAleese has urged Danes and Irish in Copenhagen to “build on our cultural compatibility” to renew bilateral ties dating back to the Vikings.
On the first day of her official visit to Denmark, Mrs McAleese met prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen. She was also guest of honour at an official dinner held by Queen Margrethe at Fredensborg Palace.
“Putting it diplomatically, the first tourists to Ireland were Danes,” said Mrs McAleese at a business lunch, to snorts of amused approval from her Danish and Irish guests. “Anyone walking down an Irish street would think the Vikings left five minutes ago.” The Vikings were not simply raiders but also traders. They founded Dublin . . . gave us our currency and taught us about global trade.”
She said those historical links had given way to two states comfortable doing business with each other; annual trade ties worth €1.1 billion were “something our ancestors would be very proud of today”.
Irish trade to Denmark has seen remarkable growth in recent years. Despite the tough economic environment, exports are up 25 per cent in four years. Software companies Information Mosaic and Norkom have enjoyed big successes here while Irish food and drink exports grew by nearly 6 per cent last year.
Mrs McAleese is accompanied on her three-day trip by her husband, Dr Martin McAleese, and Minister of State for European Affairs Dick Roche.
Yesterday morning, President McAleese was received by Thor Pedersen, president of the Folketing, the Danish parliament. Prime minister Rasmussen said at a meeting in his office that the economic situation was “the right time to share ideas”, and that Denmark was happy to strike up green technology partnerships with Ireland.
Mrs McAleese said that Ireland was anxious to learn Danish best practices on renewable energy.
This morning she will visit an off-shore wind-energy plant as well as the island of Samsø that since 2005 has supplied all energy for its 4,300 residents from renewable sources.
Ireland’s new Ambassador to Denmark, Brendan Scannell, said he was looking forward to his posting among what opinion polls suggest is one of the world’s happiest and most contented peoples.
“It’s not all doom and gloom in Ireland either; Irish smiles, laughter and sense of fun are an intrinsic part of us, too,” he said.
“But considering the Danes stole some of our treasures maybe it’s time for payback, for us to steal some secrets of Danish success and happiness,” he added.
During a reception for the Irish community in Denmark, Mrs McAleese recalled her visit to Denmark as an RTÉ producer after its accession to the then EEC alongside Britain and Ireland in 1973.
Her report told the story of an Irish man married to a Danish woman and their children. Then as now Ireland and Denmark had “similar wells” of experience and the president called on the Irish community in Denmark to “fill out the promise of 1973 and harness the harvest of potential partnership”.