REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT A DANISH-IRISH BUSINESS LUNCH, MARRIOTT HOTEL, COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT A DANISH-IRISH BUSINESS LUNCH, MARRIOTT HOTEL, COPENHAGEN, DENMARK MONDAY 11TH OCTOBER 2010
God aftermiddag
Good afternoon
Mine danmer og herrer, jeg er meget glad for at være her i København i dag.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am very glad to be here in Copenhagen today. I am delighted to be here for this business lunch and to have the opportunity to meet leading Irish companies and their key business partners in Denmark. This event, which has been organised by the Embassy of Ireland in conjunction with Ireland’s economic agencies – Enterprise Ireland, Tourism Ireland, IDA Ireland and Bord Bia – is a wonderful opportunity to meet and network, and to celebrate the increasing trade between Denmark and Ireland.
I’d like to start by thanking our Danish guests for their interest in Ireland and their willingness to join us today to celebrate and promote the business relationship between Ireland and Denmark. Your presence is a clear demonstration of the energy and dynamism that exist in that relationship. We have a strong track record of working well together and I have no doubt that there will be more opportunities for fruitful partnerships ahead.
It could be said that the Irish-Danish connections started with some not so friendly encounters about 1200 years ago when the Vikings came to the Emerald Isle. However, the Vikings were not simply raiders, but also traders. They established some of Ireland’s most important towns and cities and made a lasting impact on our history and culture. Of most interest to this gathering will be the fact that the first monetary coins in Ireland were struck by the Vikings to facilitate trade and now, over a millennium later, we are one of the most open trading economies in the world.
The combined level of merchandise trade between our two countries last year stands at over €1.1 billion Euros. Enterprise Ireland has seen a growth of 25% in exports in the past four years by their client companies to the Danish market – this focus has been mostly in software and services, agricultural equipment and life sciences. This is exceptional growth in tough times and it was built through strong, mutually beneficial, commercial relationships.
The Irish and Danish companies here are working hard to ensure that both Denmark and Ireland maximise their potential in technology. Companies such as Information Mosaic, IT Alliance, Skypac and Danske Bank are all committed to enhancing trade between both countries, for with trade comes employment, with employment comes opportunity and prosperity and the chance for people to live life to their full potential.
Over the last decade, Ireland has developed a highly advanced financial services software industry employing some 3,500 people. Two of our leading software companies have attained notable success in Denmark over the last twelve months; Information Mosaic and Norkom, who are both working in partnership with one of Denmark’s leading financial IT companies, BEC. Also in the IT sector, Danish agricultural companies have shown their willingness to innovate and become early adopters of leading edge technologies from Irish companies like Keenan Systems.
This growth in trade with Denmark highlights the substantial potential for further accelerated growth in the years ahead, with trade opportunities right across the business spectrum. This is particularly so in sectors where Irish companies are already active, where we have a base of internationally competitive client companies and a match with the local market industrial base. Key sectors of opportunity include industrial products, such as environment products and construction, software and services, particularly life sciences, and eGovernment.
Across the Irish economic agencies, our people in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Paris, London and Dublin are working hard, and closely, with Danish counterparts. There are some companies here today who are collaborating with more than one of our economic agencies, so let me explain a little.
Enterprise Ireland, our trade and technology board, works to help Irish companies increase their sales and develop local partnerships across the globe, with a strong focus on Europe. Enterprise Ireland’s services to Danish companies start, as with a lot of things, with listening – listening, understanding and responding to the needs of the marketplace, and identifying your needs, then working together with clients to develop creative solutions that help to achieve corporate goals, together with like-minded, creative and innovative Irish partners.
Tourism Ireland is a unique organisation that markets the island of Ireland, north and south throughout the world. The Nordic Headquarters of Tourism Ireland are here in Copenhagen and I look forward to visiting their new offices here in a few days time. This investment shows the importance we attach to the growing Danish and Nordic region tourism market. With the opening of the new Convention Centre in Dublin, I hope that the many Danes who travel to Ireland for convention and conference business will add on a day or two to enjoy the many and varied qualities that an Irish holiday can offer. Tourism figures from Denmark to Ireland remain strong and are greatly supported by direct flight access, from Copenhagen on SAS and Norwegian Air, and from Billund on Cimber Sterling. Almost fifty thousand visitors from Denmark travelled to Ireland last year for golf, for music and culture and to enjoy the place and the people. We say in Ireland a good start is half the work and we are confident that the number of Danish visitors to Ireland will continue to grow.
IDA Ireland, the Industrial Development Authority is Ireland’s inward development agency, driving foreign direct investment and contributing to the development of world-class clusters in life sciences, medical technologies, financial services, ICT and digital media, areas in which Danish companies are active in Ireland. It has been hugely successful in attracting high quality FDI into Ireland even during these tougher times of economic retrenchment.
Bord Bia is the Irish Food Board and acts as a link between Irish food and drink suppliers and existing and potential customers across the globe. As well as being known for excellence of our high-tech exports, Ireland is also renowned for the wonderful quality of its food and drink. We produce some of the world’s best known drinks brands and are the largest exporter of beef in the northern hemisphere. Denmark and Ireland both place a high premium on food quality and safety and the excellence of the food and drink products that we export are testimony to that commitment. I’m delighted that at today’s lunch, you will have the opportunity to sample our fish and lamb as examples of the excellent quality we have to offer. Demand for Irish food and drink is increasing in Denmark – last year, exports grew by 5.8% to €73 million and our fish exports into Denmark jumped by 51%.
Over the next three days I will be meeting Danes here in Copenhagen, on Samsø, in Århus and in Roskilde. I, and my accompanying delegation, will be exploring wide areas of interest and expertise. Hopefully contacts established and strengthened during these days can lead to greater collaboration between our countries, in research, innovation and business. You will all be aware of the strong measures that Ireland is taking in response to the economic crisis with the aims of stabilising our public finances, repairing our banking system, creating jobs and most importantly to you, increase our competitiveness. My message to you today is that Ireland is open for business and is a place where highly-educated people are engaged in innovation, creativity and producing the finest quality products and services across a range of sectors. For those of you yet to do business with us, I hope that you will be encouraged today, by the Danes here who can tell you of their great success in Ireland, and by the Irish businesses ready to trade with you.
Thank you for your attention and for the welcome to your beautiful country. May you do good business between Ireland and Denmark and may some of it start here over a shared meal and good company. I’m very much looking forward to the next few days here.
Mange tak!
Many thanks.