It is a great pleasure for the Crown Princess and me to join you all at this lunch. It is an even greater pleasure to see so many present here today, around 500 Chilean and Danish representatives of government, organisations and enterprises.

During our stay in Chile for the last three days we have been shown such great hospitality for which we are very grateful.

For the Crown Princess and me this hospitality illustrates the warm and unique relationship between Chile and Denmark. It is a relationship that over the years has developed in many areas, not least in the areas of commerce and culture.

And there is still much room for further development. Therefore, I am happy that more than 50 Danish companies have chosen to be a part of this official visit and to use this opportunity as a platform to further strengthen their relationships with Chilean partners – and create new ones.

The participating Danish companies cover a broad range of sectors, but common for all of them is their technological advancement and high level of competency.  

Denmark has a lot to offer when it comes to industrial design, energy efficiency and environmentally friendly technology. I am confident that this has been clearly demonstrated during the business seminars this morning.

Denmark’s commitment to green technology is also illustrated by the creative and artistic sculptures, which you see on your tables. They are created by young Danish designers with the aim of bringing new perspectives into the idea of sustainable development.  I hope they will spark your curiosity and create some discussion – after all, they are called conversation pieces!

Danish export to Chile has over the last two years increased by 34 percent and likewise Chilean export to Denmark has been high and stable for a number of years. The presence of both Danish and Chilean businesses here today shows a large interest from both sides in establishing new contacts and exploring opportunities in a broad range of sectors. Hopefully, this can contribute to creating new jobs and sustainable growth for both of our countries.

Around 30 Danish companies have already established themselves in Chile with subsidiaries, and many more with local partners or distributors. Yesterday, together with ten Danish companies from the health sector I visited one of Latin America’s finest private hospitals here in Santiago.

A number of Danish solutions and technologies within the health sector are leading within their field and yesterday’s visit was an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas and prepare the ground for new partnerships in the future.

Tomorrow and Friday we will visit the Northern part of Chile, which we are very much looking forward to. Not only because of the uniqueness of the area itself, but also because of the companies we will be visiting. Here we will have the opportunity to visit a number of projects.  Projects using Danish technology within the largest sector of all in Chile: the mining sector. Projects like this form a solid basis for our mutually beneficial and highly valued cooperation and partnership.

With these words I would like to propose a toast for the strengthening of existing commercial ties and the creation of new ones.