Danish Queen Margrethe II and her spouse, Prince Consort Henrik, arrived in Hanoi on November 1, beginning an official 9-day visit to Vietnam at the invitation of President Nguyen Minh Triet.

In the afternoon, the Queen and her spouse visited the Old Quarter, St. Joseph Cathedral and an installation art exhibition to mark the 1,000th anniversary of the capital city in 2010.

The official welcoming ceremony will be held in Hanoi on November 2 by State President Nguyen Minh Triet.

The Queen is accompanied by a number of senior officials of the Danish government and representatives of 60 leading Danish businesses.

The Queen is scheduled to hold talks with State President Nguyen Minh Triet and meet with other Vietnamese leaders. She will visit Ho Chi Minh City, Hue city City and Lam Dong province and some Danish-invested projects there. ‘

Two-way trade between Vietnam and Denmark has increased by 10-15 percent annually, reaching US$318 million in 2008. To date, Danish investors have poured US$400 million into Vietnam, ranking them 22nd among foreign investors in the country.

Denmark is one of Vietnam’s biggest donors, with its total non-refundable aid amounting to approximately US$1 billion. In 2008, Denmark provided Vietnam US$40 million in non-refundable aid to cope with possible consequences of climate change.

VietNamNet/VOV