Ambassador of Denmark to Pakistan Ole Thonke has said that Denmark will provide support to Pakistan not only in energy generation but also for policy reforms, safety enhancements and load and grid management.
The foreign dignitary made this announcement during an agreement signing ceremony between the global industry leader, Ramboll of Denmark, and its Pakistani partner ELAN.
Thonke said he was new to Pakistan as he had assumed the charge just in July this year but he found Pakistan quite opposite to what the country had been portrayed in the media. “Pakistan is a very friendly country. People are open-minded. And there are huge investment opportunities here,” he said.
The envoy said Denmark would help Pakistan in technology transfer, energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors, adding that “it would not be limited to that, as we plan to enhance our collaboration in the dairy sector and wastewater treatment”.
He said more delegations planned to visit Pakistan for cooperation in water technology and agribusiness.
Thonke said that Danish and Pakistani companies could forge partnerships in the various sectors to benefit from each other’s competence.
The government of Pakistan aims to end the energy crisis and load shedding by 2018 through its five-year energy plan and the government of Denmark is actively supporting Pakistan in achieving that goal.
Speakers noted that Pakistan had a young and vibrant population of around 190 million and it was expected to become the world’s fourth largest by 2025. The demand for energy in Pakistan is significantly higher than production and the country is currently facing an energy crisis, with an estimated 7.5-gigawatt shortage. It is feared that the country may lose up to three per cent of its GDP per annum because of power shortage.
To highlight potential solutions for the energy sector in Pakistan, the Danish Embassy in collaboration with the global industry leader, Ramboll Denmark, have organised a series of seminars and business meetings in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad this week.
Ambassador Ole Thonke said, “Through private sector’s engagement, the government of Denmark is facilitating support to Pakistan not only for energy production but also for policy reforms, safety enhancements and load and grid management.”
Speaking at the ceremony, Assar Qureshi, the commercial counsellor at the Danish Embassy, said Denmark was eager to further strengthen and enhance bilateral trade ties with Pakistan as the current level of bilateral trade, though steadily increasing, had much more potential to grow.
Mogens Skov, the director of Ramboll’s Global Division, said that “with many decades of experience in planning, design and implementation of sustainable, efficient and reliable energy solutions worldwide, Ramboll is in a great position to present a full spectrum of technologies and comprehensive solutions for the Pakistani market, particularly in the energy sector”.