Denmark’s Casper Klynge becomes the first 'techplomacy' ambassador in California

The top firms in California’s Silicon Valley carry more weight on the global stage than many countries, which makes building diplomatic relations with them increasingly important, the world’s first national technology ambassador has said.

Chosen to fill what his country’s foreign ministry has dubbed the first “techplomacy” posting on the US west coast, Denmark’s Casper Klynge will be tasked with building direct ties between his country and the likes of Facebook, Apple and Google.

“We are to continue doing traditional diplomacy with countries and organisations, but we also have to start looking into what relation you can have with these big tech companies,” Mr Klynge said.