KARACHI: Denmark is planning to further engage with Pakistan via people-to-people diplomacy and share its expertise particularly in the energy sector of which Denmark has a rather successful track record. These views were expressed by Jesper Møller Sørensen, the Danish ambassador, at The Pakistan Institute of International Affairs on Monday.

Mr Sorensen spoke first about Denmark’s relationship with Pakistan. “Initially we restricted ourselves to the visa consular section but then with time we decided to expand and began the development assistance programme. For instance, last November we provided $50 million funds for primary education in the conflict-hit areas such as Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.” Quoting figures, he said that 5,000 schools had been rehabilitated under the programme by providing them material and training to teachers among other requirements.

Another aspect of the development assistance programme that the career diplomat highlighted was working with civil society organisations such as Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat) by providing funds for their Youth Parliamentarians programme.

Outlining future plans in terms of people-to-people diplomacy, the ambassador said there were plans to launch a media component this year and the following year there were plans to launch a cultural programme.

While highlighting the need to increase trade relations between the two countries, he said: “We are encouraging Danish businesses to come to Pakistan as we see a huge potential here. We have also formulated a specific goal that within the next three years we would like a 40 per cent increase of exports to Pakistan.” Earlier, he gave figures about the trade volume especially in textiles, machinery and pharmaceuticals between the two.

However, Mr Sorensen was honest enough to admit that back home people were apprehensive to invest here because of the security situation.

He spoke at length about the energy crisis and how Denmark’s expertise in harnessing windmill energy could help Pakistan out of the crisis.

The other part of his speech pertained to Denmark and the European Union (EU), a major part of which centered on the financial crisis. “All of us were unprepared what hit us back in 2008-2009. We [Denmark] had taken our welfare model for granted and it was put to test during the crisis. We introduced new financial regulations and now we are slowly emerging from the crisis,” he said.

Responding to queries about Greenland’s status and Denmark’s exploration of mineral resources in the Arctic region, he said: “Nobody is holding back Greenland, if they want to be independent then they can. But with a population of only 60,000 it will be difficult [for them to survive on their own].”

“Like all major players that are interested in the Arctic, Denmark, too, is interested in the region because of its huge potential. We are playing with the likes of major actors such as Russia, the US and China. We want to do this in the 21st century way of international politics so that all countries get their fair share of resources. The Arctic is an important policy subject and will become more so in the near future.”

Responding to another query about the Danish cartoon controversy and the furore it raised in Pakistan and the unfavourable impression it may created in the minds of the Danish and Pakistani public, the ambassador said that with time people had forgotten about it. He argued, “When I meet people here, they don’t ask me about the cartoon controversy and I don’t think it is because they are being polite. People have a positive image about Denmark and speak highly of our welfare model.”