Mr. Chairman, Mr. Kobayashi, President of the Norway-Japan Society, Mr. Vaarlid, President of the Norwegian Chamber of Commerce in Japan, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

My wife and I are privileged to have arrived in this land of ancient culture and modern business. I pay tribute to the great achievements of modern-day Japan.

Norway and Japan are far apart. Yet, we share many values. I will in my meetings with my colleague Prime Minister Koizumi and Foreign Minister Kawaguchi tomorrow discuss with them a broad range of common interests. Norway and Japan share views on issues ranging from the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation to the sustainable harvesting of marine resources and gender equality.

I am proud to have the opportunity to meet with prominent members of the Norwegian community in Tokyo this afternoon. I am happy to greet key Japanese partners.

I am aware of the role you play as part of a "Team Norway" in strengthening our bilateral relations.

I emphasise the broad-ranging delegation that I bring with me to Japan. The ministers of Children and Family Affairs, of Fisheries and of Trade and Industry reflect the importance my Government attaches to relations with Japan.

In addition, prominent representatives of Norwegian trade and industry have joined us from Norway for this visit.

All these Norwegians are looking forward to dialogue, expanded contact, and to bringing our relations further.

In this forum it is unnecessary to stress the importance of Japan – its importance in economic terms and in political terms.

Japanese foreign policy is centred on our common efforts towards peace and stability. The Japanese government is leading in efforts to combat poverty – the world no. 1 reason for instability and injustice. Japan is at the forefront in promoting democratic values and good governance. To Norway, Japan has become a key dialogue partner in the field of development assistance. Japan is the world’s largest single contributor of assistance to the developing world. And we share many objectives and priorities in this field.

Norway and Japan cooperate towards common goals in Afghanistan, Indonesia, Burma and Sri Lanka.

I am pleased that Norway and Japan are co-chairing the next Sri Lanka conference that will take place here in Tokyo in June.

Japan is an economic locomotive.

Japan is world leading in science and technology. Japan devotes 3.2 per cent of its gross domestic product to this sector, the highest percentage in the world.

20 per cent of the world’s research and technology development takes place in Japan. This is truly an investment in the future.

Therefore, the signing of a bilateral research agreement tomorrow will be an important event. This agreement will provide a framework for future research and development cooperation. It will improve and formalise communication channels. It will stimulate student and other academic exchanges. The agreement will form a platform for R&D institutions and for industries to develop a new kind of beneficial partnership.

Japan is our biggest trading partner in Asia.

I am proud that our exports to Japan were worth a billion US dollars last year. Japanese exports to Norway were around even beyond that.

Japan is the biggest single market for the large Norwegian shipping sector.

More than 20 large ships are being built at Japanese shipyards for Norwegian shipowners.

The Norwegian oil company, Statoil, has agreed to export a large quantity of liquid petroleum gas to Japan.

Japan is the most important market for Norwegian seafood. This sector accounts for half of Norwegian exports to Japan.

Toyota sells more cars in Norway than any other car manufacturer. One of every five cars sold in Norway is of Japanese origin.

A large proportion of our electronic devices, such as computers, office machines and photographic equipment, are made in Japan.

And I welcome the rapidly developing tourism sector. Japanese tourists spent more than 147,000 nights in Norway last year.

My Government’s main goal for trade and industry is to stimulate creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship in our industries.

This will entail closer cooperation between R&D communities and commercial companies. Particular support is given to entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises with the will and the potential to grow.

In this process we focus on research and development.

A new organisation will be established in Norway. It will focus on innovation and internationalisation.

The representatives of this institution will be an integral part of our foreign service. In Tokyo, the office of the trade and technology representatives will be fully integrated with the embassy.

An overall objective is to expand bilateral relations with Japan. Economic and technological cooperation is an essential part.

To succeed in this we need partners like you, the business community here in Tokyo with links to Norway. You are currently establishing a Norwegian-Japanese Chamber of Commerce. I welcome that warm-heartedly.

When our Princess Martha and her husband married in Trondheim in Norway last year, the table was set with exquisite Japanese porcelain. That was a gift by the Emperor Meiji to our King and Queen for their coronation in 1906.

That gift testifies to our old relations. And the use of the gift testifies that these relations are very much alive.

Let us go forth and build upon these one hundred year-old ties. I wish you good luck in our common endeavours. Thank you for attention.