Secretary Michael R. Pompeo’s Meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark Jeppe Kofod
![Denmark [Shutterstock]](https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Denmark-2113x1406.jpg)
International Travel Information
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August 21, 2019
U.S. Relationship
U.S.-Denmark Relations
Denmark and the United States have long enjoyed a close and mutually beneficial relationship. The two countries consult closely on European and other regional political and security matters and cooperate extensively to promote peace and stability well beyond Europe’s borders. Denmark is a stalwart NATO ally and a reliable contributor to multinational stability operations, as well as to international assistance initiatives. Denmark has forces deployed worldwide to NATO, the UN, and the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. The U.S. Air Force presence at Thule Air Base in northwest Greenland provides significant strategic value for the U.S. and NATO allies and plays a critical role in our early warning radar system.
Bilateral Economic Relations
Denmark is a social welfare state, with a thoroughly modern, services-based economy. Denmark is highly dependent on foreign trade and is a strong supporter of liberal trade policy. Denmark’s strategic location at the entrance to the Baltic Sea have made Copenhagen a center for U.S. agencies and the private sector dealing with the Nordic/Baltic region. The United States is Denmark’s largest non-European trade partner. In 2018, U.S. Denmark total two-way goods trade totaled just under $11.5 billion; services trade in 2017 totaled $8.6 billion. Aircraft, computers, machinery, and instruments are among the major U.S. goods exports to Denmark, while Denmark exports industrial machinery, chemical products, furniture, pharmaceuticals, canned ham and pork, windmills, and Legos. Denmark is a world leader in “green energy” industries, and in sectors such as IT, health and life sciences, and shipping. Danish investment in the United States is growing, exemplified by Novo Nordisk’s USD 1.85 billion investment in a North Carolina pharmaceutical facility and the Vestas wind turbine company, which as of 2016 employed more staff in the United States than in Denmark. According to the Danish government, investments in the United States support some 75,000 U.S. jobs.
![Denmark Flag: red with a white cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side; the banner is referred to as the Dannebrog (Danish flag) and is one of the oldest national flags in the world; traditions as to the origin of the flag design vary, but the best known is a legend that the banner fell from the sky during an early-13th century battle; caught up by the Danish king before it ever touched the earth, this heavenly talisman inspired the royal army to victory; in actuality, the flag may derive from a crusade banner or ensign. Note: the shifted design element was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. [CIA World Fact Book]](https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/da-lgflag.gif){kind=small}