The new world economy necessitates new trade partnerships, says Mimi Jakobsen, deputy prime minister of Denmark.
Such a philosophy brought Jakobsen to Utah Monday where she spoke to executives and toured Novell Inc., WordPerfect Corp. and Brigham Young University on a mission to foster trade between the United States and Denmark."The high tech (industry) is obviously what we're going to be doing in the future, especially in the area of software," Jakobsen said. Building trade relations with Utah is a natural, given the strengths of its high-tech, biomedical and food processing industries.
Denmark has a lot to offer Utah as well, Jakobsen said. The newly forming nations in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union look to Scandinavia for economic leadership. The area encompasses 300 million consumers.
"Denmark could really be the gateway for American companies," Jakobsen said.
Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States have great need for service businesses, communications and environmental remediation industries. "The whole Eastern Europe is polluted in ways you could never imagine," she said.
It also makes strategic sense to assist the fledgling countries. "If these people don't see hope, it's going to be a dangerous world to live in," Jakobsen said.
The United States and Denmark also could gain from research and economic partnerships. Utah's familiarity with Denmark is particularly encouraging, Jakobsen said. "We want really to put Utah on the map. There are lot of people here with Danish names," she said. "Americans would feel very welcome there."
Denmark ranks first in competitiveness among Nordic countries and second in the European Community.
"There is growing trade, particularly in the fields of high tech and manufactured goods. We also have some trade in in processed foods," said L.M. Reimann, consul general for the Royal Danish Consulate General.