Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark have been in New York this week for the annual opening of the United Nations General Assembly.
The Crown Prince Couple flew to the United States right after the funeral of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II to carry out a hectic schedule from Tuesday, 20 September to Thursday, 22 September 2022.
On Tuesday, Crown Prince Frederik was present at the welcome reception given by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, followed by the official opening of the General Assembly. Later that day, The Crown Prince attended the “Sustainable Food: How Alternative Food Production and Consumption Can Combat Climate Change” event organised by the Consulate-General of Denmark in New York and Food Nation Denmark, a public-private partnership that highlights innovative sustainable food products. His Royal Highness serves as patron of Food Nation Denmark.
Crown Prince Frederik then delivered a speech in his capacity as patron of State of Green. The speech, which explored the impact of public and private partnerships on the viability of green energy, was organised by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, State of Green, and other Danish nonprofit organisations.
In the afternoon, the Crown Prince participated in the annual meeting between SICA (Central American Integration System) and ministers from Scandinavia. Representatives from various Central American countries boarded the Danish training vessel ‘Danmark’ to discuss the importance of climate change.
Crown Prince Frederik spoke about the importance of addressing ocean challenges in the ongoing fight against climate change: “climate change cannot be addressed without ocean action, and the health of our oceans cannot be restored without climate action.”
After the meeting with SICA, His Royal Highness met with representatives of CARICOM to address multilateral approaches to climate change. He also gave a speech at the green investment event, “From billions to trillions: Mobilising trillions of dollars for the green transition towards 2030.”
On Wednesday, the Crown Princess participated in the World Wide Fund for Nature’s “Global Plastics Treaty Business Coalition event, which addressed plastic pollution in the ocean and land. She also met with Dr Natalie Kanem, the executive director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), to discuss the Fund’s strategic plan for the next three years.
Next, the Crown Princess attended the annual Salas Lecture, “the role of trade in improving the lives of girls and women.” Crown Princess Mary is patron of the UNFPA. Crown Prince Frederick and Crown Princess Mary ended the day’s packed events by attending President Biden’s UN welcoming reception.
On Thursday, Crown Princess Mary met with Denmark’s ambassador to the UN to discuss Denmark’s candidacy for a one-year seat on the UN Security Council in 2025. The day before, Crown Prince Frederik took part in a morning run with the UN ambassadors running club, supporting Denmark’s candidacy. Crown Princess Mary also met with Inger Andersen, the United Nations Environmental Program executive director, and visited the Danish Consulate-General in New York to meet with staff members.
The Crown Princess then gave a speech at the “How do we best respond to the disproportionate impact of rising food insecurity on women and girls?” event, jointly presented by Denmark and Nigeria, to fight gender-based violence. In the evening, Crown Princess Mary attended the launch reception for Denmark’s 2025 Security Council seat. She also participated in a reception with representatives of FOSS (Forum for Small States) in the evening.
