Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar leads a three-day trade mission to Denmark put on by Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland.
The visiting party will travel to Copenhagen and Herning for Agromek, northern Europe's largest agricultural trade fair, and over 60 Irish and Danish companies will participate in the mission with the aim of stimulating business collaboration between the two countries and promoting Ireland as a world-class business destination.
Some 20 Irish companies have established a new presence in Denmark in the past three years, and the mission coincides with the announcement that Irish specialist energy and telecoms engineering firm Skanstec Engineering is opening a new office in Denmark, having secured two new contracts in neighbouring Sweden.
"Denmark is a country that leads globally in the transition to renewable energy, digitalisation and sustainability," said Varadkar.
"We can learn a lot from Denmark and there is much we can do together. Increasingly Irish companies are finding innovative solutions and partnering with Danish companies on the innovation agenda.
"We look forward to further accelerating this collaboration for the mutual benefit of both of our countries.”
Irish innovation, particularly technology, high-tech construction and agribusiness exports, is in high demand in Denmark and across the Nordic region, with Enterprise Ireland client exports to the region at a record high at €1.24bn in 2021, up 31% on 2020.
Approximately 560 Enterprise Ireland client companies are exporting to the Nordics region with 328 exporting to Denmark.
IDA Ireland has 37 clients from the Nordic region operating across Ireland, employing 3,550 people in a diversified sectoral base such as financial services, consumer business services, life sciences, engineering, renewable energy and software.
Enterprise Ireland client exports to Denmark have grown particularly strongly in the area of high-tech construction.
Over 50 Irish companies are delivering on data center projects across the Nordics. The Nordics is also a key export market for Irish agribusiness.
At Agromek, the trade mission will meet the chairman and board members of the trade fair and with eight Irish companies exhibiting at the event as well as their Danish partners.
Over 60 Irish and Danish business representatives will attend a business reception in Copenhagen, and the mission will also meet with leading Danish green energy firm Ørsted and its two Irish innovation partners, Xocean and Vilicom.
There will also be a visit to a high-tech construction site with John Sisk & Son, which is delivering a vital piece of infrastructure for a global technology company, one of a number of projects Sisk is involved in across Scandinavia in tech and life sciences.
"The Nordics is now a key export market for Irish agribusiness, and we will look to build on this at Agromek, a very important agricultural trade event in Northern Europe," said Marina Donohoe, regional director for the UK and the Nordics at Enterprise Ireland.
Speaking about the trade mission, Bernard Smith, director of Europe at IDA Ireland, said: “This trade and investment mission is a terrific opportunity to promote Ireland as a world class business location and very much open for business, despite the current global challenges.
"Attracting new investment from the Nordic region is a strategic focus for IDA in Europe. This mission plays an important role in deepening our relationships with key decision makers from leading companies in the region in order to win new investments for Ireland.
"It’s wonderful to have this opportunity to meet with our Danish clients in the market and to share the strong message that Ireland is an excellent location choice for those investors considering establishing and expanding operations to serve their customer base in Europe and globally.”
Welcoming the trade visit to Ørsted, Kieran White, VP for Europe onshore at Ørsted, said: “As a leading green energy major, I’m delighted to welcome Tánaiste Leo Varadkar to our global headquarters in Copenhagen.
"Ireland is a key market for Ørsted where we have a growing team of over 90 people and have invested over €500m to date in 360MW of renewable energy generation. We look forward to continuing this investment with ambitious plans for further growth across wind, solar and storage.
"Ørsted’s partnership with Xocean and Vilicom showcases the level of innovation that Irish companies can bring to this fast-paced growth sector. With a strong approach to regulation and markets, Ireland can continue to innovate, create economic value and play a leading role in Europe’s drive for secure and clean energy.”
Photo: Leo Varadkar (centre) with representatives of Enterprise Ireland. (Pic: Enterprise Ireland)
