I would like to use this opportunity to wish you all welcome to this seminar regarding the World Bank and Private Sector Development.

The Norwegian Trust Fund for Private Sector and Infrastructure (NTF-PSI) provides grant resources for World Bank Group activities aimed at mainstreaming investment climate, governance and infrastructure services for the poor. It supports infrastructure including energy, water, urban development, transport and trade logistics as well as investment climate and governance activities across the bank and IFC.

Since last year we have established a Norwegian reference group including resource persons from the private Sector, Norfund and Norad. The objective of this reference group is to advise the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the progress and development of this Trust Fund. During the months to come we are also planning to involve people from research institutions and private companies in the reference group. We are looking forward to a close and fruitful co-operation between the reference group and the very competent staff of the bank and the IFC.

We know that there is a lot of competence and experience to be found in the private companies and research institutions based here in Bergen. This is the main reason for selecting this beautiful city as a venue for this seminar.

This seminar will focus on two main topics: Infrastructure, including transport and Water and Sanitation, and the relationship between investment climate and good governance.

This is the third time we invite different stakeholders from private sector, NGOs, research institutions and public sector to openly discuss topical issues from the co-operation between the World Bank and Norway. Openness and transparency to all stakeholders is an ideal for us in our relationship with the World Bank. Experience with consultation mechanisms for the trust funds on education and environment and sustainable development ha s taught us that open discussion with all relevant partners result in better reports and better dissemination of the activities being funded. Therefore, access to annual reports and information sharing is very important for us.

The first session is about infrastructure including transport and water and sanitation. Infrastructure is an area that has been neglected by many donors over the last years. We support the emphasis on infrastructure, and especially the B anks interest in infrastructure as an integrated task to enhance the MDGs . B ut also their efforts to measure the impact of improved infrastructure facilities. Poor people need better basic infrastructure services for increasing their education and health, welfare and living standard. Poor people also need basic infrastructure in order to create job opportunities and hence increase income. However, it is fundamental that investment in infrastructure is based on national needs and priorities and not supply driven.

The interrelationship between investment climate and good governance is the topic of the second session her today. The Ministry has been criticised by the media for funding the NTF-PSI. The critics say that by supporting the World Bank we are promoting privatisation of public goods such as energy and water and sanitation and the removal of business regulations. From our perspective the objective is the opposite of this. We have been emphasising that a good balance between public and private investment and not least a well functioning regulating framework is a prerequisite for investment and economic growth. This is now strong on the World Bank agenda, promoting rules for private engagement in infrastructure and strengthening governance in public sector.

The World Bank has provided us with several important and impressive reports and findings regarding investment climate. Doing Business in 2005, World Development Report 2005 and Investment climate surveys do all document that there is a significant relationship between good governance and the investment climate.

What I find especially interesting with these studies are that the same set of indicators have been compared across both poor and rich countries, such diverse as Malawi and Norway, showing that there is a significant correlation between business regulations, investment climate, growth and development.

Even more interesting are the findings regarding the relationship between private and public sector and its influence on the investment climate. Poor and middle income countries have more cumbersome regulations than the rich countries. Corruption in Latin America, Asia and Africa is often a result of excessive government regulation. However, regulations are not obstacles for development. Cumbersome regulations are. Few would argue that the Nordic countries do not prioritise social benefits less than other countries, or regulate too little. The studies have shown that the Nordics in general have simple and effective regulations that allow businesses to be productive and enforces regulation where it counts – protecting property rights and social services.

In the effort to make regulations and institutions work for the poor, the Nordic countries together with interested partner countries like the UK Canada, Tanzania and Guatemala are now ready to launch a High Level Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor. First and foremost, the new Commission will be charged with developing an action-oriented agenda, including key principles and a tool kitwith policy and strategy options, providing governments and organisations with the means to move forward. The commission aims at extending legal protection to those who have been outside the system as such, allow the poor and socially and economically disadvantaged to derive more economic benefits and to make them become more active, responsible political participants at various levels within a country’s political system.

Once again, welcome, and feel free to express your opinion.