Your Majesty, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure for me to be here in Washington and to have the opportunity address this very distinguished audience. I have visited the Carnegie Institution many times in previous capacities, and my meetings here have always been rewarding and stimulating.

My theme today is co-operation between Norway and the United States in the fields of research, technology and higher education. I will touch on the history of our co-operation, but my focus will be on future developments and opportunities. And as Minister of Petroleum and Energy I will also say a few words about the potential for bilateral co-operation in this particular sector.

As Her Majesty the Queen pointed out, historically the United States has been Norway’s most important co-operation partner in research, technological development and higher education. Tens of thousands of young Norwegians have studied in the United States. They have acquired knowledge and taken their degrees at educational institutions that are among the best in the world. Large numbers of researchers have received their research training here and taken part in bilateral research co-operation. The Fulbright Programme has made a considerable contribution in this respect.

We greatly appreciate our longstanding ties with the United States. However, we cannot rest on our laurels and assume that this positive situation will continue under its own speed, so to speak. Bilateral relations and co-operation have to be constantly developed and renewed. We must keep abreast of the new developments in technology and the new ideas and ways of thinking that accompanies this trend.

The Norwegian Government gives priority to strengthening our co-operation with the US and Canada in research and technology. In this connection my government has recently presented a S trategy forNorway’s Research and Technology Co-operation withNorth America. The strategy provides an analysis of the present situation, presents our objectives, and proposes measures to achieve them. In addition to pre-projects and seed money, a special mobility programme is to be launched, the Leiv Eiriksson mobility programme, which will be administered by the Research Council of Norway. The aim is to encourage more Norwegian researchers and fellowship holders to spend time at recognised institutions in the US and Canada, and vice versa. We are also seeking partners in the US in order to forge stronger bonds in research co-operation and promote greater mobility. The 2005 centennial is an excellent opportunity to highlight this important aspect of our bilateral co-operation.

At a political level, we are negotiating a bilateral framework agreement on research and technology co-operation between Norway and the United States. We hope it will encourage mobility and facilitate access to laboratories and infrastructure.

The Science and Technology Forum at the Norwegian embassy here in Washington is an important meeting-place for people committed to enhancing and expanding research and technology co-operation between Norway and the USA. The Forum's activities have also been useful in forging stronger bonds between the authorities, research councils and research institutions of our two countries.

For a small knowledge-based society like Norway, it is very important to have close links with the best international educational institutions and research communities, many of which are to be found in the USA. Since we believe that our future welfare depends on our ability to acquire and use new knowledge, it is obvious that we are very interested in strengthening our good relations with US institutions in this field. And at a time when our strong transatlantic ties are being stretched by new challenges, it is more important than ever to expand our co-operation further and form fruitful new partnerships in fields of mutual interest.

We have a very good and concrete example of the importance of such co-operation in my own sector, oil and energy. When we began building our offshore petroleum installations in the North Sea in the 1970s we entered into a close and constructive co-operation with American companies and US research institutions. American companies have since contributed considerably to developing Norwegian research capacity in this sector. Some of them have established research centres in Norway, and Norwegian and American companies are now working together to develop new technologies to discover and develop hydrocarbon resources in an environmentally sound manner.

Unfortunately statistics show that there is a marked decline in the number of Norwegian students who receive part or all of their education in the United States. For example, in 1991-92 there were 2300 Norwegians enrolled in higher education in the United States, but in 2003 the number had dropped to 1100. The number of Norwegians studying in the US has thus been more than halved in little over a decade. This is even more significant in the light of the fact that the total number of Norwegians studying abroad has more than doubled in the same period.

Several explanations for this development have been suggested. The cost of living in the US is high compared with other countries outside Norway, and US institutions have high tuition fees. Furthermore, the Norwegian State Education Loan Fund does not grant financial support for the freshman year in the US. Many Norwegian students also find the application process cumbersome owing to the large number of institutions and the lack of a general admissions procedure. US colleges and universities are usually not present at Norwegian education-related fairs or other events where they would be likely to recruit Norwegian students. And finally, persistent marketing on the part of other countries, in particular Australia, has had a great impact on young people’s choices.

The proportion of Norwegians in graduate studies and research training in the United States has also declined, but the negative trend is not as pronounced as for lower degrees. The highest number of Norwegian PhD-students studying abroad is still in the USA. The reasons why this trend is less negative are that better financial support is available for PhD studies, and that the ties between individuals and institutions are stronger at this level.

Since there are specific reasons for this trend, we can take specific measures to reverse it. We will look into what we can do, and I hope our US counterparts will do the same.

research is becoming more international and this trend will only continue. Thus, in addition to maintaining strong ties with North America, we are also substantially increasing our participation in European research co-operation. One of the main reasons for this is Norway's participation in the EU Framework Programmes for research and technology. However, the United States now has a separate agreement with the EU, and this framework programme will be a new arena for co-operation between our two countries.

The importance of strengthening our links in oil, gas and energy research was confirmed by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by the US Department of Energy and my own ministry in May last year. The MoU underlines both countries’ commitment to strengthening R&D collaboration in areas of common interest like oil and gas. Several initiatives for new projects were taken at the kick-off conference for the MoU here in Washington last October. The plan is to stimulate new activities and encourage Norwegian and US institutions and companies to engage in bilateral activities and joint research programmes. The Research Council of Norway will be an active contributor to joint projects of this kind.

Norway has a high level of expertise, particularly in the oil and energy sector, but also light metals, marine and maritime research, polar research, climate and environmental research, and medicine and social sciences. This reflects the importance we have always attached to research and development.

In order to produce researchers of a high standard, we need high-quality universities and colleges. Norway is in the process of reforming its higher education system in order to enhance the quality of both teaching and research. Internationalisation is a central tool in this endeavour. For instance, our system of academic degrees has been changed to bring it into line with international practice, which will promote greater mobility. We are also requiring universities and colleges to offer all students a period abroad as part of their degree. International student exchange is also one of the criteria in the result-based financing system that has been introduced as part of the reform.

Let me conclude by saying that I am confident that the various initiatives and processes I have referred to will give a strong impetus to increased co-operation with the United States in research, science and higher education. The implementation of our strategy for research and technology co-operation with North America will be an important tool in this respect. Through its Science and Technology Forum our embassy in Washington will continue to play an important role as a catalyst for developing closer bonds between institutions and research groups in our two countries.

I wish you all a stimulating and interesting seminar.

Thank you very much for your attention.