DK Diplomat issue december

DK Diplomat ISSN: 2445-6039

For The Modern Diplomat

Winter Issue

Ambassador’s

View

Culture Strong can be cultivated by

Values

Event

Gallery

Regional integration

will help promote peace, stability and development, because I don’t think aid will in any given society Ambassador’s View p. 3

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Preface

Contents

The developed world’s common view of developing countries as charity cases has in the past decades started to change. Rather than treating developing countries as competitors in a zero-sum game, the developed world has started to see them as vital partners in the common goal of creating a sustainable global economy.

Increasing efforts are now being directed towards cooperation rather than aid and foreign direct investments have been pouring into the developing economies at a phenomenal rate. This edition of DK Diplomat magazine is dedicated to business and development. We have had the great pleasure of interviewing the ambassadors of Uganda, South Korea and Turkey and asking them about development strategies in their respective countries.

Page 03 Ambassador’s View Page 12 Solar Panels and Renewable Energy in The Developing World Page 14 The Proposed Benefits of the TTIP and TPP in Business Outsourcing and Integration.

Page 16 Culture can be cultivated by strong values Page 18 Event Gallery Page 22 DK Diplomat Event

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Solar Panels and Renewable Energy in The Developing World

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r’s View Ambassado

Interview with the Ambassador of Uganda

African countries have experienced unprecedented economic growth in the past decade, prompting a growing interest in African businesses and opening investors’ eyes to the vast opportunities the continent has to offer. Uganda is no exception, the country has remarkably reduced poverty since the early 90’s and its GDP is still rising at an exceptional rate. We had the honor of interviewing his excellency, the ambassador of Uganda, Mr. Zaake Wanume Kibedi. He spoke about current development strategies in Africa as well as some of the opportunities and challenges facing Uganda at the moment.

Mr. Zaake Wanume Kibedi has been the ambassador of Uganda to the Nordic countries since 2013. The Embassy is responsible for all the Nordic countries, running through 5 states including Iceland and is based in Copenhagen.

How has diplomacy changed throughout the years?

Diplomacy has greatly changed.

It has ceased to be only classical diplomacy where it was about issues of bilateral relations, issues about peace, and issues about seeing that the international world is without conflict. One of the ways to ensure peace and harmony between countries is to also have trade business and it’s a diplomat’s duty to maintain these international relations; to be a commercial diplomat. Commercial diplomacy, sometimes also referred to as economic diplomacy, is about promotion of trade, investment, attracting tourism and technological transfers. So this is one way of seeing that countries work together, because the world has become a global village.

Why has diplomacy been more focused on economy and trade?

Economic integration is very important. Some decades ago when there were no strong economic relations between, for example, the European countries, they used to have a lot of wars. Actually at one point Europe had more wars than any other continent, but after the European Union was founded Europe became the most peaceful and stable continent. A new way of thinking emerged. Before, it was about being

the strongest military force in order to overcome any threat to national security, but then a new thinking started to become appreciated; if I do business with you there will be no need to fight you because you have interests on my side and I have interests on your side. But if I’m not doing any business with you, I will have to step on you in order to ensure my own existence.

Because of the success of the EU many other regions are starting to do the same, for example in Africa. There is the African Union and there is the East African Community doing ex-

tremely well, and it might even go a step further than the European Union if it’s successful. We are not only looking at economic integration; the major destination is political integration.

How is political integration in Africa going to be possible?

It’s going to be possible because already now we have a customs union, there is economic union and now it’s just like in Europe where you can travel freely in the region without a visa. We now have the East African legislative assembly, and what’s going to happen now is that we shall have a federal state. We should have one

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head of state and then it will be easier to start working as one.

What steps does the African continent have to take in order to further develop?

Regional integration will help promote peace, stability and development, because I don’t think aid will in any given society. Aid is like giving someone a fish, but when you do business with a person he is learning from you and he is also learning to take responsibility. Eventually, it will be like learning someone how to fish, which leads to more sustainable development, because when he learns from you how to do business and how to provide for himself, he can even go beyond.

At the moment, many people are risking their lives to travel long distances in hope of a better life. It’s because their own lifeline is about survival or death. Last night, I was watching CNN and some people were crossing the sea on rubber boats, and if it had not been for the rescuers I don’t think they would have survived. So for someone to decide to risk his or her own life in that way, it’s after really realizing that if stay I am hopeless. Most people are migrating at the moment because of their economic challenges, and the only way to overcome that is to create opportunities in their home countries. You educate these people and you help them acquire skills to promote entrepreneurship knowledge to create opportunities.

Why has regional economic integration been challenging for African countries?

First of all, I would like to use an example to emphasize the importance of cooperation. When the conflict in Burundi recently emerged, the East African Community immediately came in to help and my head of state was appointed by the summit

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to mediate. So you see that the government and the opposition can sit at the same table, and it’s because of this kind of union. If it wasn’t in place nobody would have wanted to look at each other.

It has been easier for Europe because for a long time they have been responsible for their own state, but even for them it has taken many years to reach the point they are at now. If you look at Africa, the first nations gained independence only 60 years ago, and when you get out of that sort of arrangement you are getting used to managing yourself. Originally, there weren’t these kind of borders in Africa; they were drawn by the colonialists. The other disadvantage is that African countries do not share a common language, unlike in Europe, because in Europe everybody speaks, writes and understands English. Africa needs to have a strong union and integration, and this is the reason why African leaders have encouraged these sub regional groups to get together as blocks. It will then become easier to bring these blocks together. If the East African Community is united, the Southern African Development Community is united and ECOWAS in West Africa is united, these blocks can get together and come up with a common language and also integrate their economies.

And the opportunity is now, because when you look at countries that have the highest growth rates many of them are in Africa. Most African countries have an average of 5% growth a year and now it’s hard to find a European country that has more than 3% economic growth a year.

What major challenges is the African continent dealing with at the moment?

Corruption is one of the challenges, but the reason why corruption is very visible in Africa right now is a man-

ifestation that the institutions have started to work because it existed before but nobody was talking about it. Now people know their rights and they know what they are supposed to expect from government. For it to come out now is good, but it is also a challenge for leaders to find out how they can fight corruption. Because if you are to develop then you should ensure that whatever resources you have, you manage them efficiently and effectively. After having gone through a long period of wars we should now focus on solving issues such a corruption.

Since 1971 Denmark has been supporting development in Uganda and bilateral relations

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have historically been strong. How would you describe the current relationship between Denmark and Uganda?

It has been great because Uganda’s backbone is agriculture and Denmark is one of the countries which has been so successful in agriculture. Through this kind of arrangement many things have happened that have had a direct impact on ordinary people. For example, the Danish and Ugandan governments initiated a program called Agribusiness Initiative (ABI) trust.

They are running activities that help farmers in Uganda harvest their crops and turn it into a business, because one of the biggest problems has been that the farmers have been working for subsistence but when the people learn to do it as a business, then it can become a source of income. In Uganda’s case, 80% of the labor force is in agriculture so if you help them start thinking towards that direction, then it will make them more economically active, it will increase the country’s GDP and you will find that it creates more opportunity.

All efforts of the Ugandans at the moment are concentrated towards becoming an upper middle class country by 2040. Uganda has a very young population but this young population is a double edged sword. If you manage it well and you empower them, then you can transform very quickly because they are energetic and they will work hard. You get taxes paid and there will be increased economic activity. On the other hand, if they are not empowered then they use this energy for bad activities, drug abuse for instance, and they will be easily convinced to join terror organizations. These organizations just find young people that are hopeless and give them a bit of money, and these young people risk their lives because they can gain money to send back

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Most African countries have an average of 5% growth a year and now it is hard to find a European country that has more than 3% economic growth a year. home. When these young people are empowered it can be a very good springboard for transformation.

The only challenge is that Denmark at the moment is revisiting its international development cooperation strategies. Originally, they have been operating in many developing countries but now they are going to be greatly reduced and this means that the funds for international support will dramatically go down. When it comes down, they will have to reduce the number of countries in which they are operating, so now the prayer is that our country remains on the list.

Is Uganda worried that the antigay bill passed in the country last year will have a negative impact on economic relations between Denmark and Uganda?

The former development corporation minister of Denmark invited me to his office after Uganda had enacted the anti-gay bill and he asked: “how can you convince me not to withdraw funding from Uganda?”, and I told him you shouldn’t do that because first of all, this is a legislation that was initiated by a private member of parliament.

It was not government that proposed it, and this member had realized this problem from his constituency where people had started abusing and recruiting minors into this kind of activity and using it to get money abroad.

There were people using homosexuality for the wrong purpose, and I told him that actually since 1943 there has

been a law against homosexuality in Uganda and it was not put in place by Ugandans but it was put in place by the British when they came. Even here, until 1979, they were calling it a mental illness. People back home think that it is an activity that is learned, so they think that if you just learn it you can also “dis-learn” it. In conclusion, I told him that when the president was accenting to this legislation he said that the doors are still open when there is evidence that it is something that is inherited. It would then be very dangerous to punish somebody who born this way. Besides, cutting off support would only isolate the gays further, because people will blame they gays for the cut in aid. Eventually we agreed that to send a signal that the legislation is not good, we shall redirect the funding and the aid will now go through civil society organizations.

The legislation has always been against promotion of homosexuality, nobody is going on a witch-hunt for gays doing their thing in private, just like a man and a woman. But it should remain private. There has been petitions against this law and because Uganda respects the rule of law; whatever results come out of court will be respected, and after one year the constitutional rule nullified the legislation, so government didn’t push it.

We shouldn’t use emotions, we should just be objective and realistic.

Nordic countries are increasingly seeking to invest in and trade with

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Uganda. Why do you think there is this sudden interest in doing business with Uganda?

Not only Nordic countries but big players are looking to invest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Many of its countries are among the fastest growing economies and now forecasts show that beyond 2025 it will be the most economically active area, of course besides China.

Africa’s population is going to be about two times of what it is now, therefore it is a huge market. And yes the risks are high but then again the return on investments are very high too.

In Europe there is hardly any business where you can invest in money and then get back your capital investment in 10 years, but in Sub-Saharan Africa, once you identify a good opportunity and you manage it well, then you will get you initial capital investment back at most in 5 years. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Uganda has just completed a compendium of business ideas of the diaspora, where they have assessed and analyzed each business and the average payback period for any investment that was assessed is 3 years.

Why do foreign governments or investors focus on agriculture in Uganda and in Africa? Is there a need to be focusing on other sectors?

Agriculture is important because it has a big impact on the ordinary person in Uganda but now many other sectors

have come up. At the moment there are about 6 sectors we are focused on. The first one is agriculture, namely agribusiness. The government in Uganda has been prioritizing value added agriculture, meaning that when a farmer gets his product out of the farm he should add on value before exporting it, and then he gets more money than exporting it in its raw form.

among Africa countries. We are also focusing on infrastructure because one thing that government has prioritized is to see that there are good roads in every part of the country. Energy is key as well; if you want people to add value on what they are doing they must have power. The population is growing, so real estate is something that is also growing very fast.

An example is the story that the head of state in Uganda has been telling coffee farmers. He told them that they are donors, because when you go to a local farmer in Uganda who produces coffee you may get a kilogram of coffee for about 1 dollar and when you process that 1 kg you get about 6 packets.

When I look at the Danish companies who are processing Ugandan coffee and I see how much they are selling each packet for at the supermarket I am astonished. It is 50 kr., so about 300 kr. or $50 for 1 kg and the ordinary farmer only gets $1. That is why it is very important that the government has seriously embarked on this project of value added agriculture, by supporting them. For instance, the government is helping fruit farmers buy equipment so they can process the fruits, squeeze the juice themselves, package it, and sell it.

In Uganda we have discovered oil, so managing oil and gas is also a priority.

People have said the problem has been that the rates have gone down and yes the international rates have gone down but it’s still useful for the country. Now we do not have to import as much oil.

We use it to produce energy for ourselves so this is an area that is growing very fast.

Another sector we are focused on at the moment which is growing very fast is Information and Communication Technology. Uganda has the third highest growth rate in this sector

Another sector is tourism; it is our number one foreign exchange good.

Uganda has many interesting places to see, but not many people knew about it. Also because of the wars, people would not feel confident to come and visit Uganda but now that there has been stability for the last 30 years many people have come to see what Uganda has to offer. 64% of the world population of mountain gorillas live in Uganda and it is a highly paid for tourist attraction. So you see that other sectors are picking up; it is not only the agricultural sector, the service sector is too. When you want sustainable development you must also facilitate things for other sectors to come out.

FIRST SCANDINAVIAN RETROSPECTIVE - THIS SEASON’S SPECTACULAR SHOW AT LOUISIANA OPENS 17.9.

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Interview with the Ambassador of Turkey Turkey has managed to successfully diversify its trade potential and has exceptional business relations with many countries around the world, including Denmark, which has been a contributing factor to the country’s prosperous economy. Nevertheless, the country is still described by some as an emerging market economy but by others as an advanced economy. DK Diplomat had the chance to talk with his excellency, the Turkish Ambassador, Mr. Mehmet Dönmez and ask him about this controversy. In this interview the ambassador speaks about the state of the Turkish economy, accession to the EU and relations between Denmark and Turkey.

Mr. Mehmet Dönmez has been the Turkish ambassador since 2013 and is happy to have been representing Turkey in a country which he describes as very friendly.

How would you describe diplomatic relations between Turkey and Denmark?

We have excellent relations between our countries and these relations go back more than 200 years. The first agreement was singed between Denmark and the Ottoman empire in the 17th century, and after the foundation of republic, we have maintained these close relations with Denmark. We are both members of NATO and we are still in the process of exploring possibilities of full accession to the EU, so we have close operations in political, cultural and economic fields between our countries.

What steps is the Turkish government taking to strengthen co-operation between Denmark and Turkey?

We try to enhance these relations with the help of bilateral visits. Last year, former Turkish president, Abdullah Gül visited Denmark and this was the first ever official state visit from Turkey, and now we are expecting Her Majesty the Queen to visit Turkey in return. The date is not set yet but I know Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark will visit Turkey soon. Apart from these very high level visits between our countries, we exchange visits of foreign ministers as well as other minsters, and the

Danish side is very eager to welcome ministers from different sectors.

What key areas of development is the government focusing on currently? Why? Agriculture, health care, food and energy are the main sectors we have been focused on. These sectors offer good potential since Turkey is eager to promote relations and on the other hand Denmark is a competent country in these sectors. Industry and tourism as well.

How does the business culture in Turkey differ from the business culture in Denmark?

There is not much difference. The perspective of the businessmen in both countries are quite alike, that’s why the Danish consulate in Istanbul has recently been supported by additional staff in the purpose of having more intensive economic relations, due to the high volume of our economic relations. At the moment, the trade level is not satisfactory between our countries. It is less than 1 billion US dollars, so the first target is to increase the level of trade to 1 billion US dollars. We have an economic counsellor here, an expert diplomat and Denmark has representatives in Ankara and in Istanbul. Istanbul is the heart of the Turkish economy,

that’s why the Danish council in Istanbul is very keen on having delegations there and contacts in Istanbul.

Both countries’ businessmen have a common language; they communicate through different media outlets, delegations and seminars both in Turkey and in Denmark.

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What is the next step to enhance trade between the two countries?

Our strategy is to have more delegations. We want business people of the different sectors and of the different cities of Turkey to come and explore the potential of more trade.

They can also participate in fairs in Denmark and take part in economic fairs in Turkey.

How would you describe the current Turkish growth strategy?

The Turkish economy is a developing economy but on the other hand Turkish economy is the 16th or 17th biggest economy of the world, depending on the criteria. Turkey is also member of the G20 and now we are going to organize a very important G20 summit in Turkey, in November, with the participation of the world leaders from Obama to Putin and other influential leaders. So the Turkish economy is in the focus of, not only Denmark but, other countries as well, from Brazil to South Korea. We are also member of a group of countries that consists of nations in Australia, Asia and South America and we are very much interested in the BRIC countries. Turkey tries its best to vary its economic relations in different economic fora such as G20 and sub regional economic organizations.

Would You characterize Turkey as a developed country or a developing country?

In my opinion it is a developing country but if you look to the values of the economy, Turkey should also be considered as a developed economy, otherwise Turkey wouldn’t be in the group of the G20. In the end it depends on the criteria being used for the measurement.

In what ways is Turkey helping developing countries?

Turkey recently opened many diplomatic missions, especially in Africa and we attach great importance to having more intensive relations with these countries. There is also, apart

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from our Ministry of Economy, representation abroad in the form of embassies, where you can find ambassadors that staff the economic authorities of Turkey. Furthermore, we have the Turkish Economic Cooperation Agency (TIKA). This institution has representations in African and Asian countries, where they make direct investments in terms of infrastructure and schools. We are also educating and training civil servants, the military and the police from these countries, namely Libya, Somalia, Mauritania and Yemen, in Turkey.

These are not really direct investments but in the long term Turkey invests into the future generations of those countries.

The number of people educated in Turkey is increasing, Turkey provides scholarships and we give special quotas to the universities in order to make people more familiar with the Turkish economy and Turkish culture. This way we make more friends of Turkey.

In your opinion is Turkey a good example for developing countries?

Why? It is a good example. When you look to the history of the Turkish republic. 100 years ago, Turkey was on the brink of the collapse of the Ottoman empire because of the 1st world war.

Our people succeeded in a great liberation war and then we became able to make our borders secure in Anatolia as the last piece of the country for the Turkish nation as a homeland, and then within a couple of decades we became capable. The Turkish model is a good example, since Turkey has succeeded in being a democratic nation and maintaining economic growth at the same time.

Is accession to the European Union still an important target for the Turkish government?

Accession is still a great target for Turkey. Since 1997 Turkey has been a part of the customs union and this has not only been in favor to Turkey but to EU countries as well, that’s why

many countries such as Denmark and the UK support full membership of Turkey in the EU. Turkey is a country, which has been a part of the western civilization for a long time, even before the EU. Since the establishment of NATO and the European Council, Turkey has always taken part in the formation of these organizations. The accession of Turkey to the EU will provide these countries with a huge market. Turkey could reach out to the Middle East and central Asia, Iraq, and in that sense Turkey is a bridge for Europe. Therefore, our government’s efforts to be full members is always on the agenda. Turkey would never give up this priority.

There are some discussions that have arisen because of the recent political developments in the Middle East and the situation in Turkey. But the most recent event, the refugee crisis, has shown the West the importance of Turkey as a hosting country for the people that are in need. This made a good point for Turkey in the sense of EU membership.

Is Turkey considering other tradeagreements at the moment?

Yes, we are in the process of negotiating some bilateral trade agreements with our neighbors and our friendly countries but mostly we are trying to approach trade on a multilateral base.

Recently Turkey has decided to expand trade with South Korea.

What has been the impact of the FTA with South Korea on the Turkish economy? And what do you hope to gain with this expansion?

South Korea has been a friendly country for Turkey for a long time and they attach great importance to creating stronger trade relations, and we hope that there will be more trade possibilities. We are also in a group of countries, Australia, Mexico and Indonesia, who have the same opinions more or less in terms of political approach to the matters and similar economies.

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Interview with the Ambassador of South Korea The Republic of Korea’s rapid economic ascent is often referred to as “one of the biggest success stories in the history of development”. Korea went from being one of the poorest countries in the world to becoming a donor state in a matter of decades and has still managed to maintain very high growth rates. DK Diplomat had the great opportunity of asking his excellency, the ambassador of South Korea, Mr. Young-sam Ma, questions about bilateral relations between Denmark and Korea and what exactly has made the South Korean growth strategy so successful.

Mr. Young- sam Ma has been representing his country in Denmark for one and a half years. He lives in Copenhagen with his wife, while his two children study in Korea and in the United States.

How would you describe diplomatic relations between Denmark and South Korea?

I would like to start by telling you about the first formal relations between Denmark and South Korea which started in 1902. At that time, Korea, as an independent country, wanted to have a treaty for trade and commerce with foreign countries. In 1902, Denmark and Korea signed an agreement of commerce and ever since that treaty was concluded, Korea has made a big effort to improve relations and upgrade the substantives.

Denmark also made a big contribution to the industrialization and modernization of Korea by sending a telegram expert to my government and introducing modern technology to Korea.

In 1950 Denmark sent a hospital ship, the Jutlandia, to Korea. At that time the Jutlandia was allowed to treat UN soldiers only but, the commander on the ship found out that there were a lot of civilians suffering as well and he wanted to take care of them but, UN regulations didn’t allow him to do so.

Therefore, he sent recommendations to the UN 3 or 4 times and finally he got the approval to cure the wounded and the sick Korean people. Officially around 6000 Korean civilians were treated but unofficial figures show that it was in fact about 20 000. Denmark is very appreciated by the Korean people due to the humanitarian work they have done in our country.

Since then, we have entered in a business cooperation. In 2011 Denmark and Korea got the Green Growth Alliance because Denmark is very advanced in renewable energy technology. There is a lot of cooperation going on and every year we have big delegations being exchanged. This year, we are going to have the fifth round of Green Growth Alliance meeting in Denmark. Denmark is leading internationally in green technology and we are working on it. Because if we have safe climate then it is beneficial to Denmark, to Korea, to the world and our next generations will enjoy a clean environment.

In what ways does the Danish and the Korean government cooperate?

We have two pillars in cooperation; one is on our bilateral side and the

other one is the international arena. On our bilateral side we already have a lot of projects that are going on which focus on how we can utilize alternative forms of energy for our industries. We have government to government MOU’s, university to university MOU’s and institution to institution MOUs, which have special programs. These kinds of things are going on now in many fields. On the international arena, Korea and Denmark work together in several fields.

Climate change and renewable energy is one of them. Korea is leading the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), and Denmark also supports it. Furthermore, Denmark is providing financial support to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), whose Secretariat is in Korea. Denmark and Korea are looking together for any

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opportunity to initiate a joint development program of renewable energy in developing countries.

We are real partners and allies in green growth.

This past year several Korean start-up companies have made their debut in Denmark. What opportunities are there for Korean companies in Denmark?

My current government has launched the program of creative economy. We found out that Denmark has been exercising a creative economy for a long time and that Denmark has very good technologies which is combined with your heart and desire, and that makes a very high added value. This is the kind of work we are looking for. We have many start-up companies but they do not know how they can survive and how they can make progress but, we found that Denmark has a startup boot camp and also the Scion camp in DTU. These two organizations are inviting startup companies and they give them guidance and teach young ambitious entrepreneurs how to start their own businesses. They also find potential investors for these new start-ups and they match them with each other.

This is a great idea, so our start- ups participate in the program and they have become very successful. One of them have gotten an invitation to the United States to start business talks with them. So one of our companies is now in the Unites States thanks to your start up program.

How does the Korean business culture differ from the Danish?

I don’t think there is much difference.

We are affected by Confucianism and your country is affected by Christianity but 1/3 of our population are also Christian. Nowadays, we are very much liberalized and we are interested in trade liberalization programs and therefore, the things that people in Europe enjoy, is exactly what the Koreans enjoy now. That’s why Danish artefacts, like Royal Copenhagen, are becoming very popular in my country because as our living stan-

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dards go up people want to see different things.

What is being done to promote Korean culture in Denmark?

Nowadays, there are a lot of similarities between our cultures but we want to introduce Korean culture to Denmark and Denmark also wants to introduce its culture to Korea. This December the Andersen museum is going to have an exhibition in my country because we want to show the people what Andersen was about.

Also last month there was the Århus festival and we introduced the Korean culture there. Break-dancers from Korea were there and the taekwondo players were very highly welcomed by the audience. Danish children had the taekwondo uniforms on and they did a demonstration for the public. These kinds of events promote cultural understanding and it will make it much easier to improve and strengthen our business relations.

Furthermore, we are in the process of building our permanent exhibition hall of Jutlandia. There were about 650 Jutlandia veterans but out of them only 16 are alive now. Every year we have lost many and my idea is that before they pass away we want to collect some items from Jutlandia. We are now constructing it and 3 rooms are reserved for the exhibitions. Once it is done, I’m going to use education centers for the Danish students and I’m going to give lectures about Korean and Danish history and relations.

They should not forget what their ancestors did for Korea. We want to teach them and we want them to inherit this legacy, so we are going to invite Danish students regularly and give them our lectures and give them some Korean history and culture. We want to narrow the difference of our mentality and the culture.

The FTA between the EU and South Korea is quite unique in the sense that it’s the EU’s first trade deal with an Asian country. What has been the impact of this FTA on the Korean Economy 4 years down the road?

Since the FTA was concluded, there has been very rapid increase of trade between Korea and EU. But the EU has gotten the most benefits out of this deal. EU has a large surplus, it is over 10 billion dollars in favor of the EU, therefore, our country is thinking that we are losing, but I think that it’s not important. The most important is that total trade volume is being increased. We are getting some surplus from the US, from Asia and so on. Our people like European goods very much, but on our side we want to increase our exports to EU and so does the EU. The investment to Korea increases with about 30% every year because it creates a very big market. We have over 50 million people living in Korea, and in Denmark the population is only 6 million, so you see Korea is a very big market. That’s why your investment and trade with Korea increased very rapidly. We are for this FTA and we want to expand it. We want to keep on negotiating and strengthen this deal in order to increase trade volumes.

Some European companies have found it difficult to fully access certain market sectors in Korea for instance, the automotive sector.

Why have these barriers been so hard to eliminate?

There have been some problems of coming to terms with the technical standardization and this is a reoccurring problem when two countries enter in a trade deal. My governments position is that we want to lower these barriers to trade as much as possible.

We have special team to review it and my government is very focused on having these obstacles removed but it is very sensitive to each country. You may have heard of the Volkswagen case. The regulations are very very strict in the Unites States therefore, we need to respect each country’s regulations. But even though there were some complaints from the EU automobile companies you see that the sale of European cars in my country increased very much. Our own factories, Hyundai, KIA and so on are very worried about losing market in

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my country because of the European cars. They have very big success. We understand that there are some complaints and my government wants to remove barriers as much as possible What will be the next steps taken to eliminate some of these barriers to trade?

There have been a lot of discussion between EU and my country and specific problems are being addressed now. My government has its own system to review these barriers and we think that free trade means that these barriers should be removed as much as possible therefore I think that we are going to have much higher trade volumes between the two countries after removing all of these barriers one by one. My government is definitely going in that direction.

How would you characterize the South Korean economic model?

I think there are many similarities between the Danish economy and the Korean economy because our land is very small and we do not have many natural resources, we have human resources. We have found similarities in the development process. After the Danish war against Prussia in 1864, the Danish people got stressed and disappointed, but at that time Gundtvig came in and he wanted to educate the people and change the mentality of the Danish people. He established schools for the next generations; he wanted the young leaders to take initiative. Also Dalgas participated in such a movement. He said that what we lost outside can be regained inside. This is very impressive to us.

Denmark made big progress and after Dalgas 60% of the territory was converted into very fertile land and now you are very good in agriculture and in business. This is the basics in your economic development. In the 1970’s we tried to develop our economy very fast but at that time our leaders thought that without the development of our rural areas we cannot have sustainable development.

That’s why we want to learn from other countries and the model was

Denmark. The idea came from the Danish rule of development based on Grundtvig’s idea. So Grundtvig’s idea was planted in my country and it was very successful and now we are exporting Grundtvigs idea to the other Asian countries and African countries. Grundtvig’s vision came true in my country and now it is being expanded to other countries, this is great. So we think that there are a lot of things to cooperate on.

How is South Korea helping developing countries?

Our development assistance is development cooperation programs.

We think that the most important thing is not just to give them something, that is one time used and then finished. We want to teach them how to catch the fish. We want to teach them how they can make their own economic development. We know what a successful development process consists of, because we experience it. Determination and knowhow is the most important. That’s why some countries in Asia and Africa very much appreciate our proposals. We want to explore the possibility of developing our own wind power and export this idea to developing countries if we are successful in implementing this project.

7% of your GDP is allocated to help developing countries and we also try to increase our budget for that because we are in the same boat. Once we started our economic development our per capita income was less than $80 a year but we got a lot of help from foreign countries, includ-

ing Denmark, and now we can afford to give international help; that’s why we are cooperating with Denmark in this field.

Economists claim that South Korea needs to change strategy now that the country has caught up with the developing world in order to sustain high growth rates. Would you agree; is it time to change approach?

Yes, already Korea has achieved a certain level of economic development, and basically our economy was based on manpower and was very labor intensive but we changed into capital intensive industries, and now we think that we are facing a lot of environmental issues, so we need to learn from Denmark. Danish people work very little hours, less than other countries, you have very high income and you are the happiest people in the world. How can you make this work; that’s what we try to figure out.

I think it is because of your creative economy; you concentrated investment in the right places. In that sense my government is already in the motion to change our strategy and focus on high added value business such as industry plus culture and art combined. These are the type of businesses we are looking for and that’s why our strategy is going through change.

We don’t expect that high economic growth, now we want to have 3% or 4% and this is also stable and healthy to our economy. We want to see what our role is to contribute to the healthy economy of the world.

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Solar Panels and Renewable Energy in The Developing World

W

hen we think about the recent renewable energy revolution, we only tend to think of the applications in regards to residential properties. The developed world is abundant in limitless energy resources and adequate conditions to harvest such energy. A widely unrecognized fact about all this is that developing countries are even more advantageous when it comes to accessing renewable energy resources. In this article I will attempt to outline the replenishable energy revolution that is taking place in the last place that you’d expect.

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Reducing the dependence on fossil fuels is in a developing economy is incredibly advantageous to industry, as nations in early development may not get the same prices on fuel imports as already developed nations, and this can prove to be incredibly costly on the massive scale of production we see in countries such as India and China. This incentivized approach to energy consumption will also in the long run prove to be incredibly beneficial to the global fears of climate change.

es most of the world’s sugar-derived ethanol and has been adding new biomass and wind power plants.

Replenishable energy can also be incredibly well tailored to developing countries, in rural and mostly inaccessible areas, transmission and distribution of energy generated from fossil fuels can prove to be difficult and costly. Generating renewable energy resources locally can offer a solid alternative.

Development of renewable energy projects can also have more benefits than simply cheaper energy. These projects have already demonstrated that they can contribute toward poverty alleviation by providing the vital energy needed for creating business and employment, allowing for cooking, heating and lighting in residential properties. Education also stands to benefit too, by providing electricity to schools, pupils can be trained more intricately in IT practices and operating equipment. Another beneficiary is health; the energy provided allows stoves to be used for food preparation, elevating the potentially deadly effects of inhaling indoor charcoal stoves.

Trends in the market reflect the overall importance of developing nations in advancing renewable energy. All in all, developing nations have more than half of global renewable power capacity. China, India and Brazil are all showing huge innovations in this industry, Brazil produc-

Overall, the argument does not have to be even made about how renewable energy sources can benefit developing countries, they are already apparent, and we will continue to see the effects into the future, contributing to a rich and independent economy.

The energy provided allows stoves to be used for food preparation, elevating the potentially deadly effects of inhaling indoor charcoal stoves.

James K McLawson James holds a master’s degree in Environmental Management and works as a freelance consultant for companies who wish to reduce their environmental footprint. As an board adviser he also assists with the planning of commercial solar panels and solar panels installation. James still enjoys writing for online articles and blogs, mostly focusing on renewable energy and infrastructure management.

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The Proposed Benefits of the TTIP and TPP in Business Outsourcing and Integration I n the rapidly globalizing environment of the 21st century in which nearly all businesses operate in, it has become increasingly difficult to maintain a competitive advantage while also being profitable. As many companies’ reach to customers and businesses has amplified because of the internet and the increasingly connectedness of society, it has become imperative that companies reduce costs and save wherever they can. One way that many businesses are coping with this new environment is by outsourcing operations to countries where labor laws and regulatory standards allow for greater malleability. Although the United States has trade barriers that have greatly restricted the abilities of businesses to take advantage of this, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) stand to rescind these barriers and open access to these opportunities abroad.

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When companies utilize the proposed benefits of the TPP and TTIP, they not only increase their competitiveness, but also their flexibility to respond to change, risk from exposed capital investment, and supply chain logistics.

The benefits of looking outside the markets of the US are one of the key strategies that companies have come to implement in order to reduce costs and manage overhead risks.

With the passing of the TTIP and TPP, there are many barriers that will stand to fall such as regulatory standards in product design, and tariffs. This means that the positive economic impacts that these agreements could have on the Pacific and Atlantic regions such as increasing the standard of living, it will also allow access to important supply chain options that will greatly reduce costs.

With access to these new markets without tariffs that would normally deter certain supply chain operations, it could now become feasible to expand into these new markets and outsource some processes. As many nations (especially Pacific Rim nations) have greater access to raw materials and labor markets than what is available in the US, outsourcing nonessential operations to these countries has the ability to reduce transportation costs while also efficiently integrating new supply chain options into a business’s strategy. This means that with the option to streamline, businesses will be able to reduce the time it takes to react to markets and become more competitive because of this flexibility.

Another benefit of these agreements for businesses is that they will have the option to outsource nonessential functions of their operations. What this means is that as companies grow to meet or provide more goods or services, many of their areas of proficiency (i.e.

Another benefit of these agreements for businesses is that they will have the option to outsource nonessential functions of their operations.

transportation or customer service) become stretched and decline in value to their operations.

One way to counter this critical issue would be by outsourcing nonessential operations to firms that could provide the service at a lower cost while the original business is able to maintain their integrity of its business. This not only reduces the capital investment risk that businesses face in a rapidly evolving economy, but also gives the business the ability to focus on their core competencies. These core competencies are crucial to a firm’s uniqueness and provide a critical competitive advantage.

When companies utilize the proposed benefits of the TPP and TTIP, they not only increase their competitiveness, but also their flexibility to respond to change, risk from exposed capital investment, and supply chain logistics.

By capitalizing on what these agreements have to offer domestic industries in an increasingly competitive global economy, US businesses can mitigate risks and utilize resources more efficiently in which both are key parts of developing a competitive advantage strategy and satisfying organizational stakeholders.

Article by Hunter Stephen Hill

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Culture can be cultivated by strong values.

For your organisation, product, brand and country, it can be a useful tool.

I

magine the classic picture of a nomad, wandering with his family and animals, seeking for the best conditions of existence, week after week, year after year. They seek the best paths for generations. As a CULTUREnomad, for research, I travel from company to company, spending 2-3 months, seeking knowledge: How does organisations anchor their values into their culture. What is the best conditions for existence of an organisation?

You could say, that diplomats are nomads too. Representing countries, seeking for the best conditions for co-work, business and culture. Seeking new paths, relations, and opportunities, and not the least for preserving and strengthen existing relations.

We all have our reason for being. As humans, companies or countries, the characteristics are often described in specific details in our culture. It helps us to position our self, and strengthens our brand-stories. To create realistic and authentic pictures, we must work with our core values, based on who we ARE, what we DO, and how we COMMUNICATE. Creating a clear connection between those three terms, is a part of the “culture cultivating tool” – so we can work better together, define our product or service more clearly, and finally present our brand stronger.

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Work with the core values, help them to grow, know what they mean to you, and others. And especially, help them to get down from the walls in the reception, and lead them to every corner of your organisation.

“Welcome! As you see … we have our core values on the wall in the reception” the proud CEO said, as he warmly welcomed me, starting 2 months of CULTURE-nomad visit.

“Our values are present everywhere in our organisation” he said, showing around. Later, I heard, from employees and leaders in different departments, that more than five years ago, they discussed values and culture. It was a workshop, no anchoring during the years. In relation to the fact, that thirty per cent of the staff, had only been there for less than 3 years, it showed – that the CEO, leaders and employees did not share the same picture of future, present and future of the company.

“Why let your culture grow wild, when you can cultivate it” I asked, “What do you wish for”? By common understanding, fundament and energy you can spend more energy on business and innovation.

From country to company, or company to country, the conclusion is the same. Bring employees and colleges with you – that’s our call –our opportunity. Work with the core values, help them to grow, know what they mean to you, and others. And especially, help them to get down from the walls in the reception, and lead them to every corner of your organisation.

Enjoy the walk!

Dorte Krogh. Speaker, advisor, working internationally helping leaders and employees to common success by anchoring value and culture.

Wrote a Harvard Business Case and ran her own design-studio for more than 20 years.

Website: www.dortekrogh.com | E-mail: dk@dortekrogh.com

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Event Gallery Austrian National day

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Event Gallery German Unity Day Questions for the Ambassador of Germany, H.E. Mr. Claus Robert Krumrei The fall of the Berlin wall is considered one of the biggest political events of the 20th century. How was the 25th anniversary for reunification celebrated in Germany?

Every year we celebrate the fall of the Berlin wall in a different city in the east as well as in the west. This year we had a big feast in Frankfurt. Frankfurt is famous for their light wine, and people were celebrating in the streets with a big general feast for the whole population, and that’s how it should be. This is really a day of joy and a day of relaxation and telling each other that we are living in a good time.

Have people been able to fully enjoy the festivities in the midst of the migrant crisis Europe is facing at the moment?

It does not affect it in a deeper way because welcoming refugees is part of our values and what we celebrate is exactly our national identity as a country who loves people coming to Germany and who wants to praise them. Our wish is for us to become one as a community.

Therefore, the whole subject of refugees is more a matter of financing, finding accommodation for them and how to organize. That’s the difficulty but the central idea of doing that is in no way interfering with this national festive mood.

What are the main reasons for the existing economic gap between the former East and West Germany?

Economic conversion between East and West Germany is still a priority for the West and every year many billions of Euros go to the East to renew the infrastructure. It is no wonder that an economic gap exists because when you think about it everything had to be restructured and rebuilt since 1990. Can you imagine how much time it would take and how much it would cost to rebuild Denmark, it’s really a lot of money, so this cannot be done over the course of one year. This economic gap will will exist for a little while but I think that 10 years from now we will come to a different period where this will no longer be the case.

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Event Gallery Dia de muertos

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Event Gallery Foundation Day of South Korea

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Event Gallery KUKS Galla

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