Your Royal Highness (Deres Kongelige Højhed), Mr. President, Minister(s), Ambassador, dear guests

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to Iceland and to Gróska, growth centre, (soon to become home to Business Iceland).

Gróska’s strategic location, nestled between high-tech, life-science companies DeCode Genetics and Alvotech, and next to University of Iceland, is creative space for start-up companies and established ones like CCP Games. Here the scientific community is supported to transform inventions into solutions with societal- and economic impact.

Iceland’s strong infrastructure and integrated society, creates favourable conditions for Iceland’s numerous start-ups and flourishing art scene.

We know innovation is the key, both to economic growth and to tackle the pressing challenges of our time, like climate change. Our small domestic market requires Icelandic start-ups to think global from the start. For many, Denmark is a natural first stop. Recently 13 Icelandic start-ups participated at TechBBQ in Copenhagen where they gained access to a wide network of mentors, investors, and collaborative ventures.

The ties between Iceland and Denmark are strong. Our best and brightest have studied in Denmark and brought back important knowledge and elements of Danish culture and mindset.

I must mention here the meaningful friendship of two visionary heads of states; -her Majesty Queen Margrethe Þórhildur and former president Vigdís Finnbogadóttir who were honoured with the establishment of the Queen Margrethe’s and Vigdís Finnbogadóttir’s Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Ocean, Climate and Society last year on the occasion of their 80^th and 90^th birthdays.

In a short while, you will see an exhibition inspired by State of Green in Denmark, at the Green by Iceland platform.

The role of Green by Iceland is to fight climate change locally and globally while promoting export of green solutions, re-enforcing Iceland‘s reputation as a leader in sustainability. It facilitates cooperation between the business sector and the government to meet our goal of carbon neutrality by 2040.

It is evident from the impressive business delegation accompanying Your Royal Highness that our future businesses depend on innovative research-based solutions.

We live in an interconnected world where the solutions must be driven by private sector in an enabling environment that we, the public sector, must create. Now, words on climate change must turn into actions and be followed up with incentives that work.

To transit to a green economy, profitable solutions are required. Iceland has abundant green energy resources but not without challenges. As those challenges have been tackled some innovative solutions have come to light.

Our actions over the next decade will determine the course of humanity for generations to come. Entrepreneurs building scalable solutions will  make that future a bright one.

We know this is a Marathon, and as an avid long-distance runner, I feel assured that Your Royal Highness will continue to engage both Danish people and industries to join the run, to build relationships for global solutions.

On behalf of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (and Business Iceland), I would like to thank our Danish counterparts for being excellent cooperation partners, sharing their knowledge and experiences. That is how we must proceed in our interconnected world, -by collaborating.

Thank you and I wish you a fruitful visit.