- I am certain that President Medvedev’s state visit to Norway will stimulate the further development of Norwegian-Russian trade and industry relations, says Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.
President Dmitri Medvedev participated with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg at a major Norwegian-Russian trade and industry conference in Oslo on Monday.
- A trade agreement between the European Free Trade Association (EFTA countries) and Russia has high priority for Norway, and we support Russian membership in the WTO, Jens Stoltenberg said at the large business conference at Plaza hotel in Oslo.
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The aim of the trade and industry conference is to demonstrate the broad scope and future possibilities for Norwegian-Russian trade and industry relations. Central topics are energy, fisheries, new technology and industrial cooperation. Central Norwegian and Russian trade and industry leaders met with Stoltenberg and Medvedev. The directors of the companies Telenor, Statoil and Orkla were among the top Norwegian business leaders present, while business leaders from the Russian part of the Region were from companies like Trawl Fleet in Arkhangelsk, Sevmash and Zvezdockha in Severodvinsk in addition to the petroleum supply networks Murmanshelf and Sozvezdie as reported yesterday by BarentsObserver.
- Good working conditions are central to the development of Norwegian-Russian trade and industry relations. Russian membership in the WTO and the possibility of a future EFTA trade agreement with Russia will contribute to this, Prime Minister Stoltenberg noted. - These will be central topics during President Dmitri Medvedev’s visit to Norway, he said.
Russia is a central trade partner for Norway. In 2009 the total export to and import from Russia reached NOK 12 billion. Seafood represents more than 80 per cent of Norway’s export to Russia. Over the last decade an increasing number of Norwegian companies have engaged in relations with Russia, and more than 100 companies now have permanent representation in Russia, according to information posted at the website of the Norwegian Prime Minister’s office.
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President Dmitri Medvedev pointed at joint Norwegian – Russian projects in the north in his speech at the business conference. Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions are a privileged area where Norwegian capital has been active.
Talking about the petroleum sector, Medvedev said he was glad to see Norwegian Statoil as a partner in the Shtokman project.
- I hope that we will cooperate on a number of other major projects and work together on the Prirazlomnoye (offshore) oil field in the Pechora Sea and other projects, Medvedev said.
