Secretary Antony J. Blinken And Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod Before Their Meeting

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you.  Thanks, everyone.
So we have a lot that we will cover, but it’s particularly good in these moments to meet with friends, to be with close friends.  Denmark is just that.
Jeppe.
Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State
FOREIGN MINISTER KOFOD:  Well, thank you so much, Tony, Secretary of State.  It’s really a great pleasure to be here in D.C.  It’s a little more than a year ago we came to visit and we had a fantastic, excellent talk where we, as you said, violently agree on everything.  (Laughter.)  But the focus on our values, our democratic values, the rule of law, all of that we discussed at the time.  I think what we see in Ukraine right now is a good reminder why this is so important.  And Denmark and the United States stands so firmly together.  You are our most important ally and we work on many, many levels.  Quantum computing is one thing, green transformation, upholding rules and norms that we shouldn’t take for granted, our democratic rules, and also standing together in so many alliances, working to profess our own values.
SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, good morning, everyone.  It’s a special pleasure for me to welcome my friend Jeppe, the foreign minister of Denmark, and his entire team here to the State Department and to the United States.  One of the very first trips that I took in this job was to Denmark, and it really in so many ways set us off on the course that we’ve been following ever since, which is to re-energize and reinvigorate our closest alliances and partnerships, and it really started with Denmark.
Thomas Jefferson Room
So thank you so much, Tony, for receiving me here and the delegation.  I really have looked forward to come here today.
Washington, D.C.
We found that, it’s safe to say, we’re in violent agreement on just about everything.  (Laughter.)  But that’s so important because the United States and Denmark are working together to advance democratic values and principles, to deal together with the aggression that we see from Russia against Ukraine, to work together on many other issues that will help shape the future, including quantum technologies, something we’ll talk about today.  I think it captures the breadth and depth of one of the most vital relationships we have, one of the closest allies and partners that we have.  We’ve spent a lot of time together on the phone, but on the margins of various NATO meetings.  And simply put, especially in the times of challenge that we face now, having these close partnerships, relationships, alliances are more important than ever.

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