ISTANBUL
Danish companies and investors’ interest in Türkiye has grown over the years as they see more opportunities to increase trade cooperation, especially in the renewable energy and logistics sectors.
Ole Toft, Royal Danish ambassador to Ankara, told Anadolu that trade between Türkiye and Denmark has “definitely room to grow.”
Toft stated that Danish firms see opportunities with Turkish firms, particularly in Africa, evaluating cooperation prospects in the engineering, procurement, and construction sectors.
“I could also easily see Danish and Turkish companies working together when we start rebuilding and reconstructing Ukraine after the war, hopefully when it's over, and also when we start, hopefully, very soon, the rebuilding and reconstruction of Syria,” he noted, adding that Danish and Turkish firms cooperating in Central Asia, where the latter has a strong presence, can also contribute.
Toft emphasized that Türkiye has some of the “biggest and best construction companies in the world,” whereas Denmark does not have them any longer, but it has “big companies working all over the world in different areas, and they are interested in building in these countries.”
Toft stated that Türkiye’s other sectors, such as renewable energy, also caught the attention of Denmark due to the Turkish government’s “ambitious energy policy plan that will reform the energy mix.”
“You will move from fossil fuels and coal to a system much more based on natural gas and renewables. Denmark has big companies in the renewable sector, and they would be interested in working, investing, and selling here in Türkiye,” he said.
He noted that Danish companies operating in both onshore wind and solar energy projects in Türkiye are moving towards developing offshore wind energy.
Toft added that transportation and logistics are also among the sectors Danish companies seek to cooperate with Türkiye in due to the country’s status as a transportation hub and its importance in the Middle Corridor transport route project.
He noted that Danish large transport firms DSV, Maersk and DFDS have shown great interest in Türkiye.
“All these companies see Türkiye as a very interesting market because they can see that you are becoming a transport hub connecting Europe to the Middle East and Europe to Central Asia and eventually to China, also through a project called the Middle Corridor,” he said.
Toft stated that relations between the EU and Türkiye need to be strengthened.
“When we look at the world now with all these upheavals and globalization being questioned and more protectionism in many markets, I think the EU and Türkiye have to move closer together,” he noted.
Toft praised the Turkish defense industry, regarding its development. “You are a leading country in the development of drones that are of such great importance now -- that’s quite impressive,” he said.
He added that Türkiye is “creating peace in many countries … in Syria, the Caucasus, and Africa.”