Germany is the largest economy in Europe, the fourth largest in the world, and throughout the past 100 years, one of the most important partners for Denmark in terms of trade as well as policy and culture. In 2020, 14 % of Danish exports went to Germany.
The overall theme of the state visit is sustainability. Sustainability is on the political agenda in Germany – especially within energy, the health sector and food and agriculture – and Germany is looking towards Denmark for inspiration. The visit will provide platforms for high-level discussions and exchange of experience within the above-mentioned sectors.
The sector track on sustainable health has a special focus on digitisation and chronic patients. The program will include meetings with interest groups and decision-makers based in Berlin, i.e., the Ministry of Health and several stakeholders that approve new solutions and remedies.
Germany has a very high investment rate in the health system – in 2019 the expenses amounted to 11.7 % of the GDP and was thus the highest in the EU. According to the OECD, there is still great potential for further development of the sector. In addition, the old age dependency ratio is the highest in the EU. This situation has incited federal planning of a larger transformation process of the healthcare system, aiming at more digitisation and increased efficiency.
The Danish life science industry at large is working with digitisation on an advanced level compared to Germany, and Danish solutions and experiences fit well with the German ambitions to modernize the healthcare system. The central regulation of the health system and a fragmented structure with a number of private, public and non-profit stakeholders, as well as a financial structure of 103 health insurance companies, make it essential for Danish companies to be present on the market in order to engage in dialogue with these stakeholders.
Companies participating in the track on sustainable health include: Netcompany, WS Audiology, Systematic, Abena, Liva Healthcare, Coloplast, GN Store Nord, Falck, ALK, Demant, Trifork, LEO Pharma, Novo Nordisk, and Healthcare DENMARK.