At the invitation of Vice President (VP) Jagdeep Dhankhar, Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik André Henrik Christian and Crown Princess Mary Elizabeth visited India for 4 days from February 27 to March 2, 2023, to strengthen and enhance the friendly relationship between India and Denmark.
- Denmark’s Crown Prince had a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu and VP Jagdeep Dhankhar.
- It is the first visit from the Danish Royal family to India in two decades. In 2003, Queen Margrethe II visited India as Denmark’s Crown Princess.
Highlights of the 4-day visit:
a.TN Departments signed Letter of intent with the Danish Environmental Protection Agency for water sector
i.Tamil Nadu (TN) government Water Resources Department and the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department have signed a letter of intent with the Danish Environmental Protection Agency for sharing technology and cooperation in the water sector.
ii.The Danish agency would support, and share technology for various initiatives like the rejuvenation of rivers and waterbodies and IoT (Internet of Things) based sensors for groundwater quality monitoring and piped water supply to households.
iii.The main objective was to improve water quality in the Cooum and Adyar rivers and the Buckingham Canal to bathing standards.
iv.The 45-mld(million litres a day) tertiary treatment reverse osmosis plant at Koyambedu, Chennai was visited by the Danish team, headed by Christian Vindahl Vind, Permanent Secretary of State, Ministry of Environment.
b.IIT-Madras Signed Agreement with Denmark for Projects on fuels and energy systems
Under the ‘Indo-Danish Green Strategic Partnership’, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras signed an agreement with the Denmark government to initiate research projects on next-generation fuels and energy systems.
- A total of 4 projects were announced at an event at IIT Madras Research Park (IITMRP) in the presence of Danish Crown Prince Frederik Andre Henrik Christian along with Lars Aagaard, Denmark Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities, Freddy Svane, Ambassador of Denmark to India and S Krishnan, Tamil Nadu industries department, Additional Chief Secretary.
- As part of a long-term commitment to collaborative research to aid and accelerate the energy transition to low-carbon fuels, FLSmidth has joined as a founding member of the Energy Consortium, IIT Madras
Key Points:
i.Denmark is collaborating with Tamil Nadu on a plan to establish the first offshore wind farm in the state.
- Tamil Nadu has identified 15 offshore locations to establish wind turbines.
- Tamil Nadu has a Renewable Energy Installed Capacity of 20 GW of which 10 GW are in wind.
- The most promising offshore locations in India are off the Tamil Nadu Coast – The Gulf of Mannar.
Note – Since the 1980s, India has established 40 GW of Onshore Wind, and it also plans to establish 140 GW of Wind Energy by 2030, of which 30GW would be offshore and the rest onshore.
ii.Innovation Fund Denmark (IFD), and Department of Science and Technology (DST), the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Government of India, and IIT Madras will jointly administer the following two projects
- ECoGrif [Efficient Cost saving Grid Friendly] Power to X Converter (Focused on Hydrogen economy)
- Tomorrow project! (Focused on Cement decarbonization)
iii.Denmark-headquartered multinational company, Danfoss and IIT-Madras joins to work on Drinking water for coastal regions using renewable energy.
c.Inauguration of Silver Exhibition:
i.During their visit to the National Museum in Delhi, Denmark Crown Prince and Princess have inaugurated an exhibition ‘Silver Treasure from India and Denmark’ which showcased more than 250 prized silverware from both countries.
- Background: On November 2022, a Memorandum of Understanding for the exhibition was signed and exchanged between the National Museum, New Delhi, and the Museum Kolding in Kolding, Denmark.
ii.In the exhibition around 150 objects were sourced from the National Museum’s reserved collection, including one from the Mohenjo-Daro era. A range of rare silverware (some of them more than 300 years old) from Museum Kolding in Denmark is also included.
iii.The exhibition is part of a cultural exchange programme between both nations which continues until 2026.
d.Other event: Denmark’s Crown Prince addressed the opening session of the ‘India-Denmark: Partners for Green & Sustainable Progress’ which was organized by CII (Confederation of Indian Industry).
Note: Denmark Crown Prince was accompanied by Denamark’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Minister for Environment Magnus Heunicke, and Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities along with senior officials for the visit to India.
Recent Related News:
Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, visited India for 3 days from January 24 – 27, 2023 at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi to attend India’s 74th Republic Day celebrations as the Chief Guest.
About Denmark:
Capital – Copenhagen
Currency – Danish Krone
Prime minister – Mette Frederiksen
