On November 25, 1971 Denmark became one of the first western countries to establish diplomatic ties with Vietnam. The Scandinavian country has voiced strong support for Vietnam’s past struggle for national independence and unification and its current Renewal and international economic integration process.

The friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Denmark have fared well through regular exchanges of high-level visits, including a visit to Denmark in September 2009 by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

Two-way trade between Vietnam and Denmark has increased by 10-15 percent annually, reaching US$318 million in 2008. To date, Danish investors have poured US$400 million into Vietnam, ranking them 22^nd among foreign investors in the country.

However, bilateral economic, trade and investment ties have not yet matched the two countries’ potential. During Mr Dung’s visit last September, Vietnam and Denmark agreed to prioritise economic cooperation, striving to raise two-way trade to US$1 billion and Danish investment in Vietnam to the same amount in a couple of years.

Denmark is one of Vietnam’s biggest donors, with its total non-refundable aid amounting to approximately US$1 billion. In 2008, Denmark provided Vietnam US$40 million in non-refundable aid to cope with possible consequences of climate change.

The Danish Ambassador to Vietnam, Lysholt Hansen, says the State-level visit to Vietnam by the Queen also aims to raise a common sense of responsibility towards addressing climate change. Denmark will host a UN summit on climate change in November and Vietnam is one of the countries expected to be most severely affected by global warming.

Besides formal meetings and talks with Vietnamese leaders, a number of other activities are scheduled during the visit, including art exchanges between the two countries’ art circles. About 60 leading Danish businesses and hundreds of Vietnamese companies will attend Vietnam-Denmark business forums in Hanoi on November 3 and Ho Chi Minh City on November 6 to explore opportunities for cooperation.  

The Queen’s visit is expected to strengthen the friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Denmark and bolster a “partnership for development” in the near future.