The Nordic nations work closely together, both economically and politically. This week, leaders from the Nordic countries gathered in Copenhagen to participate in the Nordic Council. Her Majesty Queen Margrethe of Denmark, who is also Queen of the Faro Islands and Greenland, held a reception on the occasion of Denmark’s presidency of the Nordic Council 2021 at Christiansborg Palace.
The Nordic Council is the parliamentary body for official Nordic co-operation, with 87 elected members. Queen Margrethe welcomed the guests in the palace’s library. Her Majesty subsequently gave a speech for all the reception participants in the Alexander Hall.
Her Majesty Queen Margrethe said: “It is a great pleasure for me today to be able to warmly welcome you to the Nordic Council Session in Copenhagen. Of course, co-operation between the Nordic countries has not stalled as a result of the pandemic, but co-operation has taken place almost exclusively digitally. It is fine that it has been possible, but it is not the way people meet naturally and where ideas and thoughts are born and developed. That is why the joy is so much greater in being able to meet again for the Nordic Council Session”.
The Queen received Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin, Ă…land’s Parliament Speaker Bert Häggblom, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Garh Støre, Swedish Parliament Speaker Andreas NorlĂ©n, Icelandic Prime Minister KatrĂn JakobsdĂ³ttir, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, chairman of the Greenlandic parliament MĂºte Bourup Egede as well as chairman of the Faroese parliament BĂ¡rĂ°ur Ă¡ Steig Nielsen.
In her speech, the Danish Queen also said: “The kinship of our Nordic countries has deep roots. We share a common history; our fundamental values and common human vision bind us closely together. We have a rare treasure in the Nordic countries, namely the Nordic languages. It is a treasure that only gets bigger when we use it, and that is why it is so important that not least the young people in the Nordic countries become familiar with each other’s languages. Being able to speak one’s own language when talking together, and at the same time understanding the others when they speak theirs, is something very special; we should be able to do that here in the Nordic region”.
The Nordic region is defined as consisting of the five sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, plus the three autonomous territories: the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Ă…land. In September 2021, the region had a population of over 27 million people, and the combined area of the Nordic countries is 3,425,804 square kilometres, the same as 1,322,710 square miles.
